Fun With Cutie Marks

by DizzyDaze

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Random, Discord
Length: 4135

The Cutie Mark Crusaders go on a trip, and Apple Bloom earns her cutie mark. It's not what anypony expected...

Ah, Cloudsdale. A beautiful city in the sky, producer of weather and some of the best fliers Equestria has ever seen. When Scootaloo and her parents decide to visit their hometown to see the Best Young Flier Competition, Scootaloo eagerly invites her two best friends to come with. As usual, the trio gets up to all sorts of wacky shenanigans to find their cutie marks; only this time, one of them is successful. But Apple Bloom's cutie mark doesn't fit her at all, and the girls start to wonder if maybe there was a mistake...

Cover image made with the help of GeneralZoi's Ponymaker and screenshots from the show.

Published 2014-01-29 22:20:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-10 02:05:44 UTC

Winging It

Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo all sat in their normal spots on the floor of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse. Scootaloo had called an urgent meeting, and the other two were curious as to her motives. The pegasus, however, seemed to be in no hurry to share her thoughts, and so the three friends sat there, quietly brainstorming cutie mark ideas. Finally, Apple Bloom couldn’t take it anymore.

“All right, Scoots, what’d you call us over here fer?” She demanded, bow wobbling belligerently. “Ah know it’s sumthin’ important, otherwise you wouldn’t’a made it sound so urgent. So spill. Ah know Ah can hardly take this much waitin’ and Sweetie’s gotta be feelin’ the same way. So what’s yer news?”

Scootaloo grinned mischievously. “I was wondering how long it would take you girls to finally ask. Okay, get ready to hear the best news of your life. As you know, the Best Young Fliers Competition is in Cloudsdale every year, and this year, my parents got us tickets! We get to go to Cloudsdale next weekend! Isn’t that great?”

The other two stared at each other for a few seconds, their silently communicating. What is this filly thinking?

Then Sweetie Belle spoke up. “Um, Scootaloo, I don’t know if you’ve noticed recently, but, um, well…” She looked at her hooves before looking back at her friend. “We’re not pegasi. We won’t be able to go to Cloudsdale.”

Apple Bloom wiggled her back end in the air. “Yeah, no wings, remember?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “No, you see, girls, this is where it gets great. Rainbow Dash told me about the time she was in the Competition, and she said that Twilight Sparkle has a spell that can give you wings, so all we have to do is go over to the library before we leave and ask her to put that spell on you two. They should last for both days that we’re staying, and maybe even for a few days after, once we’re back in Ponyville.”

Now Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were excited, too. The three fillies beamed at each other. “When are we leaving?” Sweetie Belle squeaked happily.

Scootaloo jumped up in excitement. “We’re leaving Friday after school gets out. We can go to Twilight’s really quick and then go to my house so my parents can take us.”

Apple Bloom stuck her hoof in the air. “This is just gonna be so much fun! Ah can’t wait!”

“ALRIGHT! CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TRIP TO CLOUDSDALE! YAY!” All three fillies slapped hooves before scampering out the clubhouse door, eager to talk to their parents and make the trip happen.

“Girls, are you sure you want to do this?” Twilight asked, concerned. “Didn’t your sisters tell you what happened last time I used this spell?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded. “AJ wouldn’t tell me much about that trip on account’a Rarity gettin’ in that accident, but she told me that Ah’m allowed to go as long as Ah promise to be careful.”

“And Rarity told me that the only reason her wings burnt up was because she was being a show-off,” the little unicorn piped up. “But she said they were really pretty. And I wouldn't want everypony looking at me anyway, so I promise I won't show them off and put myself in danger. Please, Twilight, will you do it?”

The two fillies gave Twilight pitiful, pleading looks, and the alicorn sighed.

“All right, just be careful. I’m counting on Scootaloo’s parents to keep an eye on you, but you need to be careful of these wings, as well. They’re extremely delicate.”

“Yes Twilight, we promise,” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle chorused, excitement clear in their voices.

Without another word, Twilight walked over to a bookshelf and scanned through the titles. Selecting a book in her magic, she brought it in front of the fillies and began to cast a complicated-looking spell. Swirls of light detached themselves from her horn and wrapped themselves around two small bodies.

There was a flash of light, and suddenly all three ponies were on the ground. Twilight groaned and sat up. “Sorry, girls,” she muttered. “Maybe I should do it one at a time.” She opened her eyes and gasped.

Sprawled across the floor were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, each fitted with a pair of fragile butterfly wings. They squealed as they twisted around to look at their own wings, then each other’s. Apple Bloom’s were a light reddish pink, with streaks of yellow and orange, complementing her eyes and mane. Sweetie’s were lavender, like her sister’s, with white and green markings. Each filly thought they were the prettiest things they’d ever seen.

Suddenly, the door to the library opened, and in walked the filly to complete their trio. Scootaloo gasped as she looked at her best friends, now flitting around the ceiling to test their wings. “Hey, girls. Are you ready to go?” She called up at them.

Sweetie swooped down and hovered above Scootaloo. "Come on up and join us! It's so much fun!"

Scootaloo scrunched her eyes shut and vigorously flapped her wings. She felt her hooves leave the ground and gasped excitedly, opening her eyes to see how far up she was; upon seeing her hooves a mere inch from the floor, she sighed and dropped her wings to her sides. "Sorry girls," she called up at them, trying to mask the disappointment in her voice. "I can't get up that high."

Twilight, who had recovered by that point, tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Scootaloo, how would you like to have wings like that?" She asked kindly. Scootaloo gaped at her excitedly.

"What do you mean? I'd be able to fly higher than I ever could?" The little pegasus was beside herself with excitement.

Twilight nodded, an infectious grin on her muzzle. "Of course, during the time of the spell, they would replace your feathered wings, but they would work as well those of a grown pegasus."

Scootaloo skipped around the room, gushing eagerly. "Yes please, Twilight. Oh, yes, yes yes yes!"

Twilight once again assumed a crouching position and concentrated, light gathering at the tip of her horn. Scootaloo instantly stopped skipping and sat in front of the princess, patiently waiting for the spell to be ready. Twilight opened one eye to ensure that Scootaloo had calmed down, then shut it again as the light began to swirl around Scootaloo. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched in awe from above as their friend was lifted up in a cocoon of light. It became brighter and brighter before exploding in a flash, leaving Scootaloo on the floor with a pair of fuschia butterfly wings in place of her normal orange feathered ones.

Scootaloo opened her eyes slowly, her wings fluttering slightly every time she blinked. She flapped them experimentally before shooting up into the air, contacting with the ceiling before plummeting back toward the ground. Twilight flew up to catch Scootaloo before she hit the unforgiving wooden floor of the library.

"Sorry about that," Twilight chuckled. "I forgot to tell you; you won't have to work as hard as you're used to in order to get off the ground."

Scootaloo grinned sheepishly before trying her wings again, this time rising slowly into the air. She flew cautiously up to Apple Bloom, before tapping her on the foreleg and darting away, shouting, "You're it!"

The three fillies giggled as they tested out their new wings, flying around the library in wide circles in an attempt to avoid each other. Twilight smiled fondly at them before settling down with a book about the history of Maretania. Just as she got comfortable, a sharp knock sounded at the library door.

"Oh!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "That's probably my mom. Do you girls have your stuff?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie nodded, and Scootaloo flew over to open the door.

A tall yellow pegasus with a burgundy mane walked in and smiled faintly at Scootaloo as she walked in. "Hi, sweetie," she said, ruffling Scootaloo's mane. "Are you ready?"

Scootaloo flew up to her mother's eye level. "Yup!" She chattered. "And me and the girls-"

"'The girls and I,'" Her mother corrected sternly.

Scootaloo sighed. "The girls and I got our wings, so we can go now, right?"

Her mother chuckled. She called the fillies down to the ground and ushered them out the door, all four thanking Twilight profusely.

Outside, waiting for them, was a small chariot, in which sat five overnight bags and one large, red pegasus.

"Hey, squirt," he called, upon sighting his daughter. "Let's hoof it! We got a long trip ahead of us." He moved out of the chariot, strapping himself and his wife into the harnesses at the front end. The Crusaders piled into the open end of the chariot, and the ponies took off. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gazed down at Ponyville, in awe of how small it was becoming as they rose into the air.

"So, girls," Scootaloo's mother said conversationally. "Anything new going on at school lately? Hearts and Hooves Day is coming up soon. Do you all have a special somepony?"

Scootaloo looked at her mother with a mixture of embarrassment and horror on her face, while her two friends flushed red and looked at their hooves. Her dad was right, this was going to be a long trip.

The Competition

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle chattered excitedly as they flew around the Cloudiseum, waiting for the competition to start. Their unorthodox wings drew attention from almost everypony they passed, but they didn't notice; they were caught up in the excitement of the upcoming competition.

Sweetie Belle withdrew a few bits from a saddlebag strapped over her back. "I'm going to go buy some cotton candy. Do you girls want anything?"

Apple Bloom nodded eagerly. "Do they have any apple fritters? Ah can pay you back later if you'd  be willin' to front me some bits."

Scootaloo snorted. "Not likely. The pegasi are into different foods up here. They've got cotton candy, rainbow drops, popcorn, and some weird thing called 'elephant ears.' I wouldn't go for that last thing, if I were you. Nopony really knows what they're made of."

Sweetie wrinkled her nose at the thought of a food called "elephant ears." She'd never seen a real elephant, but she had learned from Miss Cheerilee that elephants were huge, with folds upon folds of skin and large, leathery ears. Apple Bloom giggled. "Now that actually sounds mighty interestin'. Ah think Ah might wanna try some 'a them elephant ears. Sweetie, would ya mind lettin' me borrow some bits?"

Sweetie hesitantly handed her friend a few bits, and Apple Bloom snatched them up and flew over to the nearest concession stand, a smirk on her face. Scootaloo watched warily as Apple Bloom rapped a hoof on the counter and stated, "'Scuse me, sir, but Ah'd like to buy one 'a your elephant ears."

The vendor, a scrawny purple pegasus, smiled kindly at Apple Bloom. "That's a very good choice, miss. Would you like confectioner's sugar or cinnamon with that?"

She pondered this for a moment, the choice made slightly harder because she still didn't know exactly what she was ordering. Finally, she slowly responded, "Confectioner's sugar, if ya please."

The vendor nodded, reaching behind him and pulling out a paper basket. He held out his other hoof. "That'll be two bits, please."

Apple Bloom gladly hoofed over the money and snatched the basket out of his outstretched hoof. Throwing a "Thank you!" over her shoulder, she rushed over to join her friends, delighting in the smell coming from her purchase.

Her two friends looked at her curiously as she came to a stop in front of them, holding out the treat for their inspection. Inside, they found a fried mound of batter, covered in white powder. "Looks all right ta me!" Apple Bloom exclaimed happily, and stuck a piece into her mouth. Scootaloo winced and waited for her reaction.

Apple Bloom's eyes widened and she moaned in delight. "Oh ma... You girls gotta try this! It's amazin'!"

Sweetie glanced at Scootaloo, who shrugged. "Why not?" The pegasus asked.

They reached in and broke off a piece, popping it into their mouths. "This is great!" Sweetie squeaked. She grabbed another piece and ate it, chewing slowly to savor the greasy sweetness.

Scootaloo nodded in agreement, then waved at someone over Apple Bloom's shoulder. Sweetie and Apple Bloom turned to see Fluttershy soaring up to them.

"Hi, girls," Fluttershy said, surprised to see them. "It's so good to see you. I didn't realize you were coming, as well. Where are you sitting? I came with my friend, and there are some seats next to us. If you'd like we can save them for you."

The fillies nodded excitedly. They loved Fluttershy, whom they affectionately called "the Stare Master." Scootaloo scanned the throng of ponies before spotting the two she was looking for. "I need to go ask my parents, first. I'm sure they'll say yes, though."

As Scootaloo zipped over to talk to her parents, Apple Bloom turned to Fluttershy. "So, where's your friend?" she inquired.

Fluttershy blushed slightly. "Oh, he's saving my seat for me. I thought it would be best if he didn't wander around too much. He likes to cause trouble, and most ponies don't really like having him around."

Apple Bloom looked curious, but before she could probe further, Scootaloo skidded to a halt in front of them. "They said it's fine," she said happily. "We just need to meet them here when we're done."

Fluttershy gestured with her wing. "We should probably be going, girls," she suggested. "The competition is about to start soon." With that, the four ponies joined the crowd at the gates of the Cloudiseum and began to make their way to their seats.

The cloud seats inside the Cloudiseum had turned into cotton candy. Tufts of sticky pink confections attached themselves to ponies' hooves as they reeled back in surprise, suddenly noticing that they were no longer reclining on cloud. Fluttershy shook her head in mock annoyance. "He always does that," she murmured to the girls.

Sweetie Belle was the first to understand. "Fluttershy...your friend, the one you brought with you, is Discord?"

Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded. "Yes. Well, I thought it would be time to start introducing him into society as a normal member and letting other ponies get used to him and-- Oh my!" She broke off suddenly, startled as a tuft of cotton candy zoomed over from the opposite side of the arena, pushed itself under all four ponies, and rushed back to where it came from.

One short, slightly nauseating ride later, a grinning face appeared before them. "Wonderful!" Discord exclaimed. "Fluttershy, I was wondering when you would be coming back. I hope you brought the popcorn?"

Fluttershy looked down at her empty hooves and shrugged. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I went to go get some for you, but then I ran into the girls, and we had such a nice conversation that I forgot." She gave him an apologetic look, which quickly turned stern. "Although, maybe I should have thought better than to leave you alone for so long. Turn the clouds back, please. Other ponies don't like it."

Discord pleaded with her. "But Fluttershy, aren't we out here to get other ponies more acquainted with the idea of me being out in public? They have to get used to it eventually. Besides, my cotton candy is the finest in all of Equestria. Here, try some!" He grabbed a clawful of cotton candy and waved it in Fluttershy's face.

Fluttershy looked from the cotton candy to Discord's face, before sighing and turning to sit down. Discord threw the cotton candy into the air and snapped his fingers. The clouds returned to normal, and a large bucket of popcorn appeared between the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had been wordlessly observing this exchange, too scared to talk. When Discord leaned over to collect his popcorn, he seemed to notice the fillies for the first time.

"Why, hello there. I suppose you must be Fluttershy's friends. Good to meet you," Discord reached over and shook the fillies' front hooves at the same time, an extra paw sprouting from his arm to accommodate Scootaloo. "I must say, you little ponies look familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?" He smiled at them; no doubt he was intending a sort of kind, fatherly look, but to the girls, he looked like a vampire about to bite.

Sweetie Belle gulped nervously. "Well, Mr. Discord, we're from Ponyville, so maybe you know us from there? O-or, my big sister is Rarity, maybe you're thinking of her? It's really improbable that you would know us from anywhere else."

Apple Bloom snorted. "Improbable? What are ya, a dictionary?"

That phrase seemed to spark something within Discord, and he jumped up in glee. "That's it!" He cried. "You little ponies visited my statue and gave me a little spark of chaos, just enough to help me break out of that dreadful prison. So really, I must thank you."

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all looked at each other nervously. "You're...welcome?" Scootaloo said tentatively. Before any more could be said, a trumpet fanfare announced the arrival of Princess Celestia and the start of the competition.

Discord waved a paw at the fillies, urging them to be silent. "This is going to be wonderful! I can't imagine what sort of things I could--" He broke off, wilting under Fluttershy's stern gaze. "See," he finished lamely. "All the wonderful things these pegasi will do, that I get to see." He smiled sheepishly at his friend, and all five occupants of that cloud turned their attention to the center.

After the competition, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were abuzz with what they had seen. They flitted around the concession area, waiting for Scootaloo's parents and discussing all of the performances.

"I'm so glad that you brought us, Scootaloo! I loved watching all of the ponies with their graceful routines and their beautiful costumes," Sweetie squealed, pirouetting in the air.

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. "All 'a them daredevil routines weren't bad, neither. Who knows, Scoots, soon's you can get off'a the ground, you could be up there competin'! Ah sure wouldn't mind comin' back up here to watch ya."

Scootaloo grinned. "It was pretty awesome, wasn't it? Come on, you guys, let's do something while we wait for my parents. Anypony up for tag?"

Apple Bloom grinned. "Just tag? Ah challenge you two to a race!"

Sweetie sighed as Scootaloo hoof-bumped Apple Bloom. "You're on! Last one to that cloud has to carry our bags to the chariot for the rest of the trip!"

The three girls giggled as they shot off to a cloud, not too far in the distance, their amateur flying keeping them almost neck-and neck the whole time. As they neared the cloud, Apple Bloom put on one last burst of speed and passed her two friends, crashing into the cloud with a muffled fwump and a flash of light.

Wait, a flash of light?

Sweetie and Scootaloo reached the cloud, panting from exertion, and peered curiously at their friend, who was flying excitedly in a tight circle, shouting, "Girls! Girls! Didya see that light? Ah think Ah got ma cutie mark!"

Sweetie flew up to her and put a hoof on her head. "Hold still, silly. We can't see anything when you're flying around like that."

Apple Bloom slowed down and hovered uneasily in the air. Scootaloo caught sight of her flank and gasped, dropping several feet before remembering to flap her wings again, a dazed look in her eyes. Sweetie peered curiously at her friend's flank, and, glimpsing what was emblazoned there, burst out in high-pitched giggles. Apple Bloom twisted her head around, but was still unable to see her flank.

"What?" She whined. "What's there? Ah wanna know what ma cutie mark is!"

Scootaloo grumbled, "Of course she'd get that. It's just not fair."

Sweetie stuffed a hoof into her mouth until her giggles died down, then rummaged in her saddlebags for a moment, emerging with a mirror clamped in her teeth. "Here you go, have a look," she giggle around the handle in her mouth, angling herself so that, from Apple Bloom's perspective, the newly-gained cutie mark was visible.

Apple Bloom turned to look at the mirror, and her expectant grin fell into a frown. "You have got ta be kiddin' me," she gasped.

Sitting on her flank, still sparkling in the sun, was a lightning bolt on top of a pair of wings. All three fillies recognized it as the insignia of the Wonderbolts, the greatest pegasus racing team in Equestria.

That Pesky Lord of Chaos

After the competition ended, Discord, Fluttershy, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders parted ways, the fillies eagerly discussing all they had seen. Discord noticed a small paper basket where the fillies had been sitting, and upon picking it up discovered a few bites of sugary dough left in it. "Fluttershy," he asked, shoving the morsels into his mouth. "What is this called? It's simply delicious."

Fluttershy turned away from the girls and looked at her friend. "Oh, those are elephant ears!" Fluttershy smiled. "Those were my favorite when I was a filly."

Discord tapped his chin with a sugary paw. "Elephant ears, huh? Those girls have some wonderful chaotic potential in them yet," he mused.

Fluttershy shook her hoof in his face. "Don't get any ideas, mister. They're your friends now, and friends respect each other and their desires. And I know those sweet little fillies don't want to start going around causing trouble for everypony because somepony wants them to spread his chaos." She eyeballed him warily, and he smiled back angelically.

"Come now, Fluttershy, I'm just teasing. Those fillies will do just fine spreading chaos on their own, I'm sure. I mean, um--" Discord cut himself off as he snapped his fingers, making a zipper close his mouth for him.

Fluttershy sighed and rose up into the air. "Let's go home. It's been a long day, and Angel's probably waiting for me to give him his dinner."

Discord nodded and snapped again, the zipper vanishing. A pink blur above his head caught his attention, and he looked up to see his three new friends racing around the sky. He thought back to when he had first met them, back in Canterlot. Hadn't one of them been a pegasus? He was sure of it.

"Oh, Fluttershy?" Discord asked casually. "Didn't one of those fillies we met today use to be a pegasus? Now they all just have butterfly wings."

She nodded. "Scootaloo was born a pegasus. I wonder why she has those wings, too. I hope they're careful with them. If they get into an accident now, I don't think they'd be allowed to try to find their cutie marks in emergency medicine."

Discord chuckled. "Cutie marks, eh? So they, along with all the other young ponies, feel that their entire lives revolve around their flanks? How adorable."

Fluttershy nodded in amusement. The two friends looked up at the three fillies for a moment, before Fluttershy noticed Discord's empty popcorn bucket. "Here, I'll get that for you," she offered. She grabbed it and flew off to a nearby trash bucket.

Discord continued to watch the fillies race, and as one of them shot ahead of the other two, he got an idea. Scootaloo's the yellow one, right? He asked himself. Of course, he answered. He smiled at himself. Fluttershy would be so proud of him for wanting to help out a friend. Surely helping this little filly get her cutie mark would show everypony that he could be a good friend, right? And the yellow one was winning the race. It would be a perfect opportunity for him to slip right in.

Discord snapped his fingers, a white flash of light emanating from their tips. At the same time, the little yellow filly crashed into a cloud with a flash of light. He smiled to himself. Discord, you're turning into such a softie, he told himself. Next you're going to be volunteering at the animal shelter or something. Wait, that's pretty much Fluttershy's house. He surveyed his handiwork, the little yellow filly circling around excitedly as she tried to see her flank.

Fluttershy flitted back over and looked at Discord suspiciously. "Ready to go?" She asked him warily. He grinned and offered his arm to her. "Let's go, friend," he chuckled. "My good deeds for today are done. I need to go cause some chaos."