Friendship is Shining: Cutie Mark Rising

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Cake Twins, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Trixie, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 14147

Twilight starts school, and trying to get her Cutie Mark

Twilight Sparkle begins school in Ponyville. After things don't go as well as expected, she decides there is only one thing to do: get her cutie mark. Maybe she can get some other ponies to help her. After all, some things are more fun with friends, right?

Part of the Shiny-verse (and an attempt to create the Cutie Mark Crusaders).
Also while not a direct sequel, it does reference Boasts and Brag

Published 2014-04-19 23:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-30 00:50:14 UTC

Shining Want Sleep

Shining Armor sat in the chair, looking out from the stage. He tried to keep from squinting under the bright lights, but he could not see the audience. He could hear them though.

As near as he could tell, he was on some sort of day time talk show. He had caught bits and pieces of them, but never actually watched any. As such, he had no idea which one he was on. Hopefully it was not the kind where the show surprised the stallion with a paternity test. He had not even done anything that would give him the opportunity to be paternal in the first place.

"Shining Armor," the host said into the microphone, "do you know why you are here today?"

"I can't say that I do," Shining answered. He shifted. Having so much attention on him was making him uncomfortable. Where was Twilight? Where was Spike? Where were his friends?

"One of your friends," the host continued, "has asked you here. It seems that she has been having romantic feelings for you, and wanted to tell you."

Shining's eyes went wide. One of his friends had a crush on him? Why would they bring him here to tell him? Why not just tell him at the library? Or some other place that was private that she was comfortable with? Who was it? Applejack? Pinkie Pie?

"Let's bring them out, right now," the host called out. The audience let out a roar of excitement, stamping their hooves.

A black silhouette appeared on the side of stage, much to the audience's thrill. Shining Armor got up and moved forward, trying to see who it was.

"Shining!"

Shining Armor paused. The voice sounded familiar, but not from his friends.

"Shining!"

It actually sounded like...

****

Twilight Sparkle jumped onto her brother's bed, causing him to bounce slightly and let out a groan.

"Get up!" the filly called out. "It's the first day of school."

"It's the first day for you," he grumbled. "I graduated already."

"Come on." She pressed her hooves against him and pushed. "Get up. It's an important day for me."

"You know," he said as he looked at her, "most foals don't like going to school. Their parents have to force them out of bed."

"Oh, please." Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Mom and Dad told me how you were when you started school for the first time."

Shining Armor sighed, but said nothing. It was true. When he was starting school, he got ready the night before. He also woke his parents up at five in the morning or such to make sure they were on time. Thinking of it that way, Shining felt he should be grateful that his sister waited at least until after the sun was up before waking him.

"Okay, okay. I'm up. I'm up." He pushed the sheets aside and rolled to get out of bed.

"Yay," Twilight shouted before hopping off the bed. The young filly sprinted out the room and down the stairs.

Shining suddenly missed having that kind of energy. He was still a young stallion, but it was getting harder to wake up in the mornings. More so when something made him as excited as Twilight was and made it hard to get to sleep to begin with. How much did the filly even get last night? Hopefully it was enough to keep her from falling asleep during class.

"Want to get up Spike?" he asked as he moved past the dragon's bed. Spike grumbled and rolled over, pulling the blankets over his head.

"Didn't think so." He left the dragon to sleep while he got ready for the day.

The stallion gave a quick brushing of his mane and a thorough one of his teeth. Going down to the kitchen, he found his sister with her face already buried in a bowl of cereal, munching away. He let out a laugh and ruffled her mane before sitting down to join her. Once breakfast was finished and Twilight had her saddlebag, the two started out to take the filly to her first day of school in Ponyville.

The two stopped as they looked up at the sky. Thick black clouds were filling it, and they did not look like it was part of a storm. Besides, none were scheduled for that day.

"Do you smell smoke?" Twilight asked.

"Shining!" Spike shouted as he opened the door. The young dragon ran up to the pair, holding a scroll in his claw. "You got a letter from Princess Celestia."

"This is kind of early for her to send letters," Shining said, looking at it. "C'mon Spike. You can read it on the way."

Twilight took the lead as they continued their way toward Ponyville Elementary. Shining followed after, keeping track of his sister, but moving at a more relaxed pace. Spike walked behind him, opening the scroll and clearing his throat.

"Dear Shining Armor..."

School Starts

Twilight Sparkle looked around as she entered Ponyville Elementary to start her first day of class. Now that she was actually here, she was starting to feel more a mix of emotions. She was still excited about starting school again. There was some disappointment that she had no idea who her classmates would be (now that she was actually starting to have friends), but was hopeful she could make friends with some. The school -- being just a little red schoolhouse -- did not inspire the same sense of awe in her as she felt when she was going to Canterlot. At the same time, it looked so much like the small town schools she had seen in pictures and read about in stories, that there was a strange familiarity to it she found comforting.

Not related but mixed in it all was worry about her brother and his friends. The letter Princess Celestia had sent Shining this morning was a request to investigate the reports that a big dragon had moved into a mountain near Ponyville, which was why there was smoke in the sky when they were leaving.

A new burst of excitement surged through the little filly as she saw a pair of ponies that she recognized. Grinning, she ran up toward the pair, moving around the other ponies in her way. As she approached, a yellow coated unicorn with a bright orange mane, and a creamy white pegasus colt with a chocolate brown mane both turned to look at her. The yellow filly gave a small smile as the creamy colt just seemed confused.

"Pumpkin!" Twilight called out excited, "Pound! You're in this class too?"

"Yeah," Pumpkin answered. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"What are you doing here though?" Pound asked, causing the other two to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"...Well..." Pound shifted as he tried to figure out how to explain it. "You're supposed to be smart. Really smart. Like, grown up evil genius smart."

"'Evil genuis smart?'" Twilight repeated, tilting her head in confusion.

"He likes to read super hero comics," Pumpkin said as if that explained everything. In a way it did. Twilight had looked at some of Spike's comic books before. The really smart characters did have a tendency to want to rule the world. Twilight had no idea why. It sounded like a lot of work. Maybe she could ask Princess Celestia about that. Although maybe Princess Luna would be a better choice. After all, she did try to take over the world and cast it into eternal night. Luna would probably-

"Plus," Pound continued, bringing Twilight back to the conversation at hoof, "you were going to school in Canterlot before, right?"

"...Yes?" Twilight responded, uncertain where the colt was going with this.

"Well, I always figured that since you were so smart and went to school in Canterlot, that you would be finished with school. Or maybe in one of the classes for older ponies. Something like that."

"Aaaww." Twilight smiled, feeling her face heat up. As far as Twilight was concerned the idea that she was so smart she should have graduated already was the nicest thing that anypony had ever said to her. And to think, it was Pound of all ponies he said it. It was really starting to look like this was going to be the best school year ever for her.

"Alright class," an adult, feminine voice called out. "I know you're all excited, but it's time for class to begin. So hurry up and find a seat."

There were mumbles and grumbles as ponies separated and started sitting at desks. Twilight looked around until she found a seat that was empty she sort of liked.

"Excuse me," she asked the pony sitting in the next desk, "is this seat taken?"

The pony in the next seat, a pale blue unicorn with a silvery blue mane turned to look at Twilight. The filly's dark violet eyes narrowed as she glared, her lips twisting into a scowl. The look made Twilight uncomfortable. Her ears fell back as she gave a nervous smile to the glaring filly. The unhappy little unicorn let out a snort and turned away from Twilight, going back to the drawing she was working on.

Twilight stood there a moment, uncertain. She got the feeling that the blue filly did not like her. The idea of sitting next to an angry pony was not appealing. Seats were being taken quickly though, and she had already asked. Slowly she took her seat, giving the filly next to her one last look before paying attention to the front of the room.

Standing at the front of the class was a white coated pegasus with a rose-colored mane and tail. Her green eyes looked out at the students over the tops of her reading glasses. On the chalkboard was written "Miss Feather Bloom." The mare stood by the name and looked at the students as they settled down.

"I'm glad to see so many returning faces," she said. "We have two new students joining us this year. Trixie, Twilight, would you like to stand up and introduce yourselves?"

The blue unicorn beside Twilight stood up and cleared her throat.

"I am Trixie," she announce, rolling the r. "You should all remember that name and be honored. For some day, I will be a great and powerful magician, and you can all tell your foals that you knew me way back when." She gave a bow and sat back down.

"...Thank you, Trixie," Miss Feather Bloom said. "That was... entertaining, though not as informative as I would have liked. Twilight?"

Twilight gave a nod and stood up.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," she stated. "I just moved to Ponyville from Canterlot with my brother Shining Armor, who was a student of Princess Celestia and is now the town librarian." She stopped, unsure what else to add.

"Thank you, Twilight," the teacher said. "You can back down now."

Twilight nodded and took her seat. Her gaze flicked back over to Trixie. When Trixie stood up to introduce herself, Twilight noticed that the other filly already had a cutie mark. Looking at it closer, Twilight could make it out for the most part. It looked kind of like a magic wand beside a glittering light blue magic field roughly in the shape of a crescent moon.

How did she get her cutie mark already? Twilight wondered.

"Now class," Miss Feather Bloom stated, "let's start the school year off with one of the classics. I want you all to..." she paused and grinned. "Write an essay."

There was a small collection of groans from a portion of the students.

"Get out your paper and pencils," the teacher continued. "I want each of you to write at least one paragraph talking about what you did during your summer vacation."

Twilight grabbed her pencil and a sheet of paper. This sounded like an easy enough task. She could probably have it done in ten minutes or so. Now, she just needed to figure out where to start.

A Near Scoota-collision

Twilight Sparkle walked after Pound and Pumpkin, following them to Sugarcube Corner. Since Shining Armor had been sent on a mission by the Princess, he had given the young filly a few bits so she could get a snack after school. Spike was still at the library if she wanted to go back, or if Shining finished soon enough, he would come pick her up from Sugarcube Corner. Plus now that she knew the Cakes were in the same class as her, Twilight could do her homework with them. Maybe she and Pound could even work on something together.

A high pitched buzzing sound reached the filly's ears, making her stop. She looked around, trying to find the source.

Coming down the road toward her was a form on some sort of wheeled vehicle. She froze as she watched it, eyes going wide. She had to move, had to get out of the way. Otherwise, the pony driving it would run her over. Twilight found herself frozen in place though. She could not get herself to move even though she wanted to. All she could do was watch as the rapidly moving pony got closer and closer.

The vehicle looked to be a scooter, made out of wood. The rider was a small orange filly who was crouched down close to the handlebars. Her purple eyes were narrowed as she drove, and there was a smirk on her face. Twilight could not make out the color of the mane because the rider was wearing a helmet. The two were so close, that Twilight would swear she could actually make out the driver's eyelashes.

Just before the two of them collided, the pony on the scooter tilted her body and jerked the handlebars. The scooter skidded sideways, circling around Twilight without even touching her. There was a cloud of dust as the wheels slid along the dirt road.

Once on the other side of Twilight, the driver turned the scooter around and continued down the road. Small pegasus wings continued to flap at a hummingbird speed, making the buzzing noise that the unicorn filly had heard. There was a flick of a violet tinted tail as it flapped in wind. Soon the scooter and the driver was gone in a cloud of dust.

"Twilight! Are you okay?"

Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder. She blinked, still staring at the direction the scooter pegasus had gone, before slowly turning to look at the pony beside her. There was Pound Cake, looking at her with concern. Her face felt warm as she started to grin.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Ugh," Pumpkin groaned from behind her brother. "Why does she always have to be driving around like that?"

"You know who that was?" Twilight asked. She lunged forward as she spoke, pressing her chest against Pound as she looked past him at Pumpkin.

"...Yeah.." Pumpkin blinked at the excited Twilight. "Her name's Scootaloo. She tends to drive all over town on that thing like that."

"Any idea where she might be going?"

"Probably Sugarcube Corner just like-HEY! Wait up!" Pumpkin started chasing after Twilight, who had started running as soon as "Sugarcube Corner" had been said. Pound blinked in confusion and started chasing after them.

The three of them arrived, and sure enough, there was a blue wooden scooter just like the one they had seen earlier with a helmet hanging by the chin strap from one of the handlebars. The three of them continued their way into the shop. As soon as they entered, Pumpkin took off toward one of the tables.

"What's the big idea, Scootaloo?!" Pumpkin yelled, pressing herself face to face with the the orange pegasus filly.

"What?" Scootaloo asked, blinking. Her eyes went wide as she looked at the very angry yellow unicorn pressing close to her.

"Don't 'what' me!" Pumpkin poked at Scootaloo in the chest with a hoof. "You nearly ran my friend over outside." She pointed her free hoof to where Twilight and Pound stood. Twilight stood there, eyes wide. Pound was crouched low and blushing, embarrassed about the scene his sister was making.

"What?" Scootaloo said as he looked between Pumpkin and Twilight. "Her? She was never in any danger. I had plenty of time to avoid her."

There was a moment of quiet tension as the two ponies stared at each other, eye to eye. Pumpkin let out a snort, a blast of air escaping her nose and blowing into the face of Scootaloo.

"Well you just be careful you don't hit any pony I care about," Pumpkin growled, "or else."

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed as she returned the glare.

"Or else what?"

"Or else I'm going to take that scooter and shove the handlebars straight up your-"

"PUMPKIN CAKE!"

Pumpkin's ears dropped at the sound of her mother's voice. Taking a step away from the pegasus filly, Pumpkin turned around.

"You do not threaten other ponies like that," Mrs. Cake said.

" But Mom," Pumpkin whined, "she almost ran over Twilight."

"I heard." Mrs. Cake moved forward and placed a hoof on her daughter. "I understand you wanting to protect your friend, but threatening other ponies with bodily harm is still wrong. Now apologize."

Pumpkin groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I'm... sorry..." she said between clenched teeth. Not getting any more, she moved away from the orange filly.

"I'm sorry for my daughter threatening you," Mrs. Cake said to Scootaloo, "but you do need to be careful. Otherwise you or somepony else could get seriously hurt."

"Yes Mrs. Cake," Scootaloo replied.

Pumpkin walked back over to where Twilight and Pound were standing, watching her mom head back to the kitchen. All of a sudden, she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her neck as another pony pressed against her. To her surprise, the pony turned out to be Twilight.

"What is she doing?"

"It's called a hug," Pound answered with a grin.

"I know that!" Pumpkin responded, giving her brother a glare. "Why is she hugging me?" She looked down at Twilight. "Why are you hugging me?"

"You called me a friend."

"What?"

"When you were talking to Scootaloo just now," Twilight explained, "you called me your friend. I thought of you as a friend, but I never thought I would hear you call me one.

Pumpkin blinked, staring at Twilight as best she could.

"You're still weird."

"I know," Twilight answered before letting go and walking over to Scootaloo's table.

"Not one word," Pumpkin said to Pound, pointing a hoof and glaring at the grinning sibling.

"Hi," Twilight said as she came up to the table.

"Ooohhh." Scootaloo pointed at her. "You're the pony that was standing in the middle of the road earlier."

"Yeah," Twilight said with a nod. "That thing you did where you circled around me-"

"Drifting."

"Is that what it's called? Well, admittedly the whole thing was kind of scary, but it was also really neat. I've never seen anypony do something like that before."

"Thanks," Scootaloo replied with a grin. "I'm Scootaoo."

"I'm Twilight." The two shook hooves.

"Twilight," Pound called out from behind the counter. "Sorry to interrupt, but do you want to order?"

"Yeah," she called back before returning her attention to Scootaloo. "It was nice to meet you, and I promise I'll try to keep Pumpkin from actually causing any bodily harm."

Leaving the table, she headed toward the counter. The sight of all the baked goods made her stop. She had not actually decided what it was she had wanted yet. It was always tough too, everything was just so tasty. As always, she was torn. She wanted to try something new, but everything was so good she wanted to have it again.

Finally, she decided to try one of the "Cookies and Cream Kaboom Cupcakes (does not actually explode)." The fact that someone felt the need to include the fact it does not actually explode on the name card was odd. Does that mean there were ponies that actually worried that it would? Did they have goodies that actually would explode?

She took the cupcake and started for an empty table. As she did, she noticed a pony joining Scootaloo. It was a white unicorn, about the same age, with a purple and pink colored curly mane. Twilight stared at the other unicorn a moment, studying her. Her eyes went wide as it finally sank in.

"Hey," she called out. "I know you. You're Rarity's sister, right? Uh... Sweet... Sweet... Sweet Song? No..."

"Sweetie Belle," the white unicorn answered.

"Yeah."

"How do you know my sister?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm Twilight Sparkle." She took Sweetie Belle's hoof in hers and shook it. "My big brother is Shining Armor, who runs the library now. We met your sister when we came for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Is your brother a white unicorn with a blue mane and tail?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Not really," Sweetie said with a shake of her head, "but Rarity's told me about him some."

"Okay. Well, I have homework to do, but it was nice to meet you. Maybe we can play together and get to know each other some time."

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle replied with a smile.

"Wait," Scootaloo jumped in. "You're going to do your homework? Now?"

"Yeah?" Twilight looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "When else would I do it?"

"Later?" Scootaloo said, seeming confused.

"Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said, "school just started. You nearly had a panic attack last year that you might not pass."

"I do better in a high pressure situations," Scootaloo stated, lifting her nose in the air. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Twilight looked at the two of them a moment, then went over to an empty table. She pulled out her homework and started to work. She was soon joined by both Pound and Pumpkin.

Jealous Blank Flank

"You're finished?" Pound asked, eyes wide as he looked at Twilight. Pumpkin looked up from her own homework.

"Yeah," Twilight answered. "It was all pretty easy stuff."

"I'm barely even half way through," Pumpkin said, looking down at her own work.

"Oh great," Pound groaned. "I'm barely even started on this."

"Do you want help?" Twilight asked.

"No, thank you." Pound picked his pencil back up and continued to look at his homework. "I think I can get it."

"Okay," Twilight said with a nod. She looked around Sugarcube Corner and stopped when on pony caught her notice.

Sitting at one of the other tables was the blue filly with the silvery blue mane and tail that Twilight had set next to in class, Trixie. Trixie sat alone, eating a what looked like a piece of cheesecake (peanut butter fudge cheesecake actually).

Twilight looked back at Pound and Pumpkin, who were busy with their homework, then at Trixie again. Maybe this would be a better opportunity to speak to her. Maybe Trixie was just feeling a little stressed out over starting classes in a new town as well. Maybe the two of them could be friends. Maybe they and Pumpkin could even learn magic together. Feeling hopeful, Twilight got up and walked over to the table that Trixie was sitting at.

"Hi," Twilight said with a smile. The glare she got in return sent a shiver down her spine. She took a step back, ears drooping as she looked away.

No, she told herself. I started this, might as well try.

"I think we might have gotten off on the wrong hoof," Twilight continued. "I'm-"

"I know who you are!" Trixie interrupted. "Your brother chased away one of the best magician ponies ever."

"What?" Twilight blinked, trying to figure out what Trixie was talking about. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Trixie growled as she moved to stand in front of Twilight. "Sunset Shimmer." She pointed a hoof. "Your brother stopped her from saving the city from the Ursa Major because he was jealous."

"I... he... what?" Twilight took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

"First," she said, "It was an Ursa Minor, not an Ursa Major. Second, why would Shiny be jealous of Sunset Shimmer?"

"Because he didn't like the fact that there was a pony that was more powerful than him."

"But she...He..." Twilight stopped and rubbed her forehead.

"She was planning on burning it!" she finally shouted.

"Yeah right." Trixie rolled her eyes. "Why would she need to do something like that. She could have beaten it easily."

"That was why Shining stopped her from doing it!"

"I bet you're just like him," Trixie said, narrowing her eyes.

"...what?"

"You're probably jealous of ponies that are better than you," Trixie stated. "Like me."

Twilight's face contorted in confusion as she tried to process what was just said.

"What..." she finally managed to sputter out, "... reason do I have to be jealous of you?"

"Simple," Trixie stated. "I have this," she turned to the side to show her flank, "and you don't."

"Your cutie mark?" Twilight asked, looking at it. "Why would I be jealous of that?"

"First, because I have one, and you don't." Trixie turned back around and pointed at Twilight's blank flank. "And second, look at it." She turned again. "It clearly shows how my talent is magic." She puffed up. "Some day, I am going to be a great and powerful magician that will be known all across Equestria."

"I don't care that you got your cutie mark," Twilight growled. "Why would I? I mean ... sta-tis-tic-ally... I should get my cutie mark some time next year. That's when most ponies get it on average."

"Oh." Trixie grinned. "So you're willing to admit that you are average."

"No!" Twilight shouted before realizing how that sounded. "I mean... yes." Her face started to turn bright red. "I mean... That's not what I mean!"

"So you think you're better than some ponies?" Trixie tilted her head, looking at Twlight with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Twilight groaned and shook her head. "I mean... all ponies are different with some being better at things than others."

"Even you?"

"Yes."

"So you admit that I'm better than you and you're jealous?"

"Yes!" Twilight shouted. "I mean... NO!... I mean... I mean.... Oh forget it." Twilight groaned and stomped back to her sit. She flopped down in with a grunt.

Pumpkin and Pound both stared at her a moment, then at each other. Pumpkin pointed toward Pound, who gave a nod and faced Twilight again.

"Twilight, are you-"

"I'M NOT JEALOUS!" she shouted, slamming her front hooves on the table.

Pound jumped slightly in his seat then crouched down, looking at her with wide eyes.

"I was just going to ask if you were okay," he said. "I've never seen you so confused like that."

Twilight looked at them and let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry." She rubbed at her head. "I'm.... I don't know... confused? Mad?" She gave a shake of her head.

"You know she was just messing with you, right?" Pumpkin asked.

"I know." Twilight looked back. "But..."

"But?" the twins repeated together.

"I don't know." Twilight gave a shrug. "I think I'm going to go." She began to pack her things.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Pumpkin asked.

"No," Twilight replied with a shake of her head, "thank you. I just need to go for a walk and clear my head." She pulled her saddlebag back on. "I'll see you two later."

Pumpkin and Pound watched as their friend left.

Author's Note

Okay, small point:
For this series, Twilight Sparkle and the Cake twins are actually about a year younger than Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. That's part of the reason why they are in a different class with a different teacher. It kind of felt more realistic to have some age difference. Plus, it allows me to let all six of them work together as Cutie Mark Crusaders while also letting the original ones keep some of their adventures -- such as Flight to the Finish -- unchanged.

And yes, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon does exist in this universe.

Wandering Wondering

Twilight was not paying attention to where she was going, or how long she had walked. The filly had not noticed the other ponies moving around her, when she reached the edge of Ponyville proper, or when she was just walking through grassy fields. It was only she reached the gates for Sweet Apple Acres that she realized how far she had traveled.

Maybe Apple Bloom will have some idea.

Twilight ran through the farm, looking around for her friend. She caught sight of a large red earth stallion pulling a plow in a field.

"Excuse me, Mister Macintosh," she called out. "Do you know where Apple Bloom is?"

"Last I saw," Big Macintosh answered, "she was headed to the south orchard." He pointed in the direction.

"Thank you," she said before running the direction pointed. It was easy to get through the orchard.

Twilight had gotten to know the layout of the farm pretty well from exploring it while playing with Apple Bloom. She had even started working on a map of the place. It still needed a lot of work, but she had the edges marked out as well as the house and the main barn. The most tedious part would be marking all the apple orchards. The south orchard was the one she knew best since Apple Bloom wanted to got there the most often for some reason. That made it easier to guess where she would be.

Sure enough, there was Apple Bloom playing with Winona. The dog stopped and let out a bark, running toward Twilight.

"Hey, Twilight." Apple Bloom said as she came up to her friend. "What brings you here?"

"I just kind of ended up here," Twilight answered as she petted Winona. "I was just kind of walking around thinking."

"'bout what?"

"How did school go for you?" Twilight asked. "Did that ... uhm... crown.... pony.... filly..."

"Diamond Tiara."

"Yeah. Did she give you any trouble?"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"No," she answered. "Well.... not directly anyways. She was too busy showing off some new outfit she picked up from... I don't know... Manehattan or something. Some fancy thing from her travels."

"When she does bother you," Twilight continued, "how do you deal with it?"

"Applejack says to just ignore and she'll get bored." She shifted, looking at Twilight curiously. "Why? Some pony picking on you?"

"No," Twilight answered. "I mean... not really. It's just... I was working on some homework with Pound and Pumpkin when I ran into a filly from class. She got me really confused, talking about Shiny being jealous of Sunset Shimmer and me being jealous of her because she has her cutie mark."

"Why do you care about that?"

"I don't..." Twilight shifted. "Or... I didn't." She looked at the blank spot on her purple flank where the cutie mark was supposed to be some day. "I mean I didn't until she started talking about it. Now... I kind of wish I did have it. It's like she got under my skin. Something I never cared about before is suddenly the most important thing in the world."

"Don't know what that's like," Apple Bloom said, "but I can kinda relate to the cutie mark thing. I mean most of the ponies in my class have theirs. I just hope I get mine before Diamond Tiara gets hers, or I'm never going to hear the end of it."

"I doubt it would be that bad. I mean she wouldn't make fun of you all the time for not having a cutie mark, would she."

Apple Bloom looked at Twilight, but said nothing.

"Apple Bloom!" a familiar feminine voice called out. "Apple Bloom, where are ya?!"

"Applejack's home," Apple Bloom squealed out. She started running, heading back toward the main house of the farm. Winona let out an excited bark before chasing after her. Twilight came with them as well.

As the house came into sight, so did Big Macintosh and the orange form of Applejack. Apple Bloom tackled her older sister, hugging her tightly around the neck. Applejack let out a chuckle as she hugged Apple Bloom back.

"I'm glad to see you too," the orange earth pony said with a smile. Several bandages covered her flank and back on one side of her body.

"What happened?" Twilight asked, looking at the bandages.

"What?" Applejack said before looking at the spot. "Oh. Well somepony, and I ain't sayin' who, thought it would be a good idea to kick the dragon right in the nose. Turned out it weren't too happy 'bout that and we got knocked 'round a mite." She put a hoof around her sister again. "Fortunately Fluttershy was there to give the fella a right talkin' to."

"I need to go," Twilight said. "I have to get home and make sure that Shining Armor is okay. I'll see you later."

"Twi-"

But the filly was already running off at full speed back toward the Ponyville library.

Tired Twiley

THUD!

"Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight let out a snort and sat up. She wiped at her mouth, catching a bit of the drool that had escaped from her.

"I would like you to stay a moment," Miss Feather Bloom said. "As for the rest of you, have a good day. Dismissed."

"We'll wait for you," Pound said before grabbing his stuff. He and his sister joined the other ponies in leaving the room.

Soon only Twilight and the teacher were left. The teacher stood at the front of the room, using a wing to hold the eraser as she cleaned the chalk board. Twilight watched a moment, with a feeling of dread in her stomach. Her second day of school and she was now in trouble. She had never been in trouble at school before. What was going to happen? Was she going to be flunked? Arrested? Chained up and forced to stand before the rest of the class the rest of the year? What if her parents find out, have her taken from Ponyville, put in a cage and banished to some uninhabited region in one of the farthest corners of Equestria?

"Twilight!"

Twilight jumped, nearly falling out of her chair. Heart pounding, she got up and moved toward the front of the room to see Miss Feather Bloom. She tried to stop herself from hyperventilating before reaching the teacher. It would be bad to pass out from lack of oxygen before being forever banished to the furthest regions of Equestria after all. Passed out ponies are easy prey.

"Yes, Miss Feather Bloom?" she managed to squeak out.

"I would appreciate it if you did not doze off in my class," Feather Bloom said as she turned to look at Twilight. "Since this is the start of the school year, I'm willing to let it go with a warning, but I don't want to see it happen again. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"That being said, I would like to add that all my students are important to me." Her features softened as she smiled down at the filly. "So if you are having problems with the work, or at home, you can come talk to me. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good." She turned back to the chalkboard. "So unless there is something you want to talk to me about..."

Twilight stood there and said nothing.

"You can go," Feather Bloom finished.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief and left. Looked like she was not going to be banished after all.

Outside, she found the Cake twins waiting for her.

"Everything okay?" Pound asked as Twilight reached the two of them.

"Fine," Twilight answered as she stifled a yawn. "Miss Feather Bloom just wanted to make sure I was okay I guess."

"Are you?" Pumpkin asked, raising an eyebrow. "I noticed you kept nodding off."

"I'm fine. Just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all. First I tried to read about cutie marks, but there's nothing I could find about getting one..." She rubbed her chin. "Although, there were some interesting theories about the possible origins of how we first started getting them and why.

"After that I kept having these weird dreams and they kept waking me up. In one I was chased by these giant blank flanks," she turned to look at her friends, "and I mean just the flank. There were no ponies attached to them. They were just giant flanks as big as Big Macintosh with no cutie marks. For some reason they were chasing me and shouting 'One of us! Make her one of us!'"

"How would they do that?" Pumpkin asked.

"I have no idea. I mean they were just huge flanks running... hopping?... however they were moving."

Pound said nothing. He found his gaze drifting to look at Twilight's flank.

"In another," Twilight continued, "I met a grown up pony that looked like me, but a princess. But before I could find out-"

Twilight stopped as she saw three other ponies. Not far ahead of them were Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Two of them, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, were both just walking along, with their heads low to the ground. Scootaloo was resting her head on her handlebars as she slowly pushed the scooter with one foot.

"Hey!" Twilight shouted as she started running to catch up with them. Apple Bloom stopped immediately, turning toward her friend. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stopped a little further when they saw that it was Twilight that was running toward them.

"Wow," the filly said as she approached the three of them. "You don't look happy. What's wrong?"

"Diamond Tiara got her cutie mark," Apple Bloom explained, "and is inviting everypony in class to her cute-ceañera this Friday."

"And you should have heard how she did it too," Sweetie Belle groaned.

"'I guess I could, like, totally invite you,'" the unicorn filly said, trying to mimic Diamond Tiara, "' though I don't see why. I mean, guh, what would some boring blank flanks do at my totally cool cute-ceañera? I suppose you could hang out with the other losers. Or maybe you could, like, get your cutie marks before then.'" She let out a snort. "'Like that would ever happen.'"

"Wow," Pumpkin said. "She doesn't sound nice at all."

"Maybe we can," Twilight said, suddenly hopping up.

"Can what?" Scootaloo asked.

"Get our cutie marks by this Friday." The filly nearly danced in place. "I bet we can even get it today. Shining probably knows a spell that could give them to us." She turned to Pumpkin and Pound. "You want to come?"

"Okay," Pound said with a nod.

"I guess," Pumpkin sighed.

"Great. Come on."

With that, Twilight turned and started running for the library. The other five ponies started chasing after her, trying to keep up with the excited filly.

LIES

"Please?" Twilight asked.

"No," Shining answered.

"Please?" Twilight asked again, this time joined by Apple Bloom.

"No."

"Please?" Twilight, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all asked together.

"No."

"Please?!" the four asked again, the Cake twins adding their own voices to the request.

"No!" Shining responded once more, his voice showing the irritation he was starting to feel.

Twilight narrowed her eyes and looked at her brother. She let out a snort then took a deep breath slowly.

"Pleeeeeeee-" Twilight started to whine out. She held the sound for fifteen seconds before she started to run out of air. Her voice grew hoarse and slowly turned into a wheezing noise.

"-eeease?" she finished before dropping onto the floor and trying to catch her breath.

"No," Shining answered again.

"But...but why not?" Twilight asked between pants. She looked up at her brother, making her eyes as wide and sad as she could. Her friends picked up on this and started to do the same. In moments, Shining Armor was looking at five fillies and one colt, all giving him their best puppy dog eyes.

"Hey," Shining Armor turned away, covering his eyes with his hoof, "no fair. That's cheating. Put the look away. Turn it off. Turn it off."

"Does that mean you'll do it?" Twilight asked.

"No."

Twilight let out a groan and dropped her head onto the floor.

"Twiley," Shining Armor said, moving over to his sister, "even if I wanted to, I couldn't. And for the same reason. A cutie mark is supposed to be something a pony finds for themselves. It's supposed to be something they like and feel is right for them. I couldn't give you one magically any more than I could just tell you what are you supposed to do with the rest of your life. Understand?"

"I guess," Twilight replied, though not very happily. She slumped back down onto the floor.

"Good." Shining ruffle her mane with his hoof. "Magic can't solve everything Twiley."

Twilight's ears drooped. Her eyes went wide while the retinas shrank down to pin pricks.

"What?... Magic.... not.... what? Magic... can't.... what? Magic... solve...what? Magic.... magic.... magic....what?"

She continued to repeat these words, seemingly to herself.

"I think you broke her," Pumpkin said, moving toward the purple filly and poking her gently.

"Yeah, that can happen sometimes," Shining said.

"You've seen this before?" Pound asked. "When?"

"When she was little and Mom and Dad had to tell her she wasn't starting school for another year."

"So you really can't give us cutie marks?" Apple Bloom asked, looking at Shining Armor with her big gold-colored eyes.

"No," he replied, looking at multiple crest-fallen fillies.

"Not even for a couple hours?" Scootaloo asked, trying to look at the stallion pleadingly. "Like, maybe a day so we would have it for a party."

"I'm sorry," Shining said just because he was uncertain how to reply, "but there's no spell that can give a pony a cutie mark that I know of. You'll just have to try and figure it out on your own." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Here." He gave them some bits. "Why don't you take Twilight and get her a milkshake."

"Okay," Apple Bloom said as she took the bits. They foals then picked up the still mumbling Twilight and carried her with them. Shining Armor watched as they trudged away.

"I have never seen a foal so disappointed when getting ice cream."

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Spike asked, moving to stand behind the stallion.

"What do you mean?" Shining motioned toward the group. "I can't give them cutie marks. They do have to find their special talents for themselves. Nothing I can do about it."

"I suppose," Spike sighed, crossing his arms. "But I got a bad feeling about this."

"Relax Spike." Shining Armor wrapped an arm around the young dragon. "It's natural for them to want to get their cutie mark. Besides, how much trouble could six foals possibly get into in a town like this?"

Spike rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He still had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

Drastic Measures

Twilight Sparkle sat at the table, staring at the milkshake in front of her. She had taken a few sips, but for the most part it had been untouched. Twilight was just not in the mood for it. It was tasty, and her brother meant well, but this was a situation that a delicious sugary treat just could not fix.

Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake had both finished theirs, and pretty quickly. It was a miracle that neither of them ended up with brain freeze. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom were still drinking theirs. They were actually seeming to enjoy it and feeling a little better, but still pretty subdued.

Twilight took another sip. The normally delicious taste of blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries was absolutely delicious to the little filly. For the moment, she could barely even taste them. Her mind was still reeling from what Shining had said. She had seen what he, their parents, and even Princess Celestia could do with their magic. It had never even crossed her mind as a possibility that there were things magic could never accomplish.

"Alright, Twiley," Pumpkin said as she walked toward the table. "This has gone on for long enough."

Twilight shifted, looking at the yellow unicorn filly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," Pound added as he joined his sister, "but you leave us no other choice."

"No choice?" Twilight asked. "What are you talking about?"

"We tried to cheer you up," Pound explained. He gave his sister a side long glance and they grinned. "But nothing seemed to work."

"So," Pumpkin continued, "you've forced our hooves. We have no choice but to resort to..."

"Drastic measures!" the twins said simultaneously, as did Pinkie Pie who suddenly appeared behind them.

The pink pony had a bag of flour, and held it above her head. She suddenly upended it, letting the entire contents dump out all over the Cake twins. In mere seconds, the two were covered in a layer of powdery whiteness.

"What was that?" Scootaloo asked.

"Why did you just pour flour all over y'rselves?" Apple Bloom asked.

Twilight stared at the two for a moment. The edges of her lips started twitching to move up into a smile. She placed a hoof over her mouth as short snorts started to escape her. The snorts shifted into a snicker before becoming a giggle. Twilight's giggle then changed into a chortle before bursting into full blown laughter.

"I don't think it was that funny," Sweetie Belle said.

"See?" Pinkie said with a bounce. "Works every time." With that, she bounced away.

"Thanks," Twilight said as she started to calm down, still looking at the flour covered twins.

"You're welcome," Pound said with a smile. He suddenly sneezed, creating a puffy white cloud of flour.

"Just don't get used to it," Pumpkin added. "After all, it's called 'drastic measures' for a reason. Now..." she looked around, "if you'll excuse us, we need to clean up before mom catches us like this."

"Alright," Twilight watched them go, still snickering. She slowly caught her breath and looked around. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were all still there, enjoying their milkshakes.

"You know what," Twilight said, "as silly as that was, they're right. We shouldn't let this get us down. It was just our first idea." She stood up, stamping a hoof on the table. "We still have the rest of today, as well as tomorrow and Thursday before Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera on Friday. That means we have two half-days and a quarter of a day to get you three your cutie marks."

"Two half-days?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well we can't try to get them during school, can we?" Twilight responded.

"We?" Scootaloo asked. "So you're going to try and get yours too?"

"Of course." Twilight shifted. "I just don't have the same time limit since I'm not invited to--"

"Well, well, well," a voice called out, making Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all groan and roll their eyes. "What do we have here?"

A pink earth pony walked toward the table. She had purple mane and tail streaked with white. On her head was a wire crown with several jewels, and on her flank was a picture of the exact same thing. Behind her was a silvery grey filly wearing glasses.

"What do you want Diamond Tiara?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I was just coming in to check on things for my super amazing and, like, totally awesome cute-ceañera being held here this Friday," Diamond Tiara said. "Then I saw, like, the three blank flanks from class just sitting here in the corner looking lame." She looks at Twilight. "Who's this? Another blank flank loser."

The sound of a hoof slamming against a table echoed through the bakery.

"I am not a loser!" Twilight snapped. "And neither are they." She glared at Diamond Tiara, eyes narrow. Bits of magic sparked from the tip of her horn.

"Yeah right..." Diamond Tiara looked at Twilight a moment. "...whatever your name is."

"My name is-"

"Who cares? I mean you're probably not anypony important, like my dad. He is, like, the richest pony in Ponyville."

"Yeah," Silver Spoon added.

"Well my brother is the student of Princess Celestia, and has saved not only Ponyville, but all of Equestria," Twilight stated.

"Wow," Silver Spoon said. "That'-" She stopped as Diamond Tiara put a hoof over Silver Spoon's mouth.

"-is so lame," Diamond Tiara finished. "I mean what kind of loser has to brag about what other ponies have done to make themselves feel big and special."

"...but..." Twilight sputtered in confusion, "but you just..."

"Ugh," Diamond Tiara groaned, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. I supposed if I was a blank flank nopony like you, I would try to make up stories about how cool somepony I know is too."

"I'm not making anything up!"

"What-ever." Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes again.

Twilight Sparkle glared at the filly, her face turning bright red.

"You... You..." she stumbled. "Oooh.... Why don't you just... Go soak your head!"

As Twilight yelled, her horn exploded with a burst of dark pink magical energy.

"He-hey!" Diamond Tiara shouted as she was engulfed by the same color of magic and lifted from the ground. "Wh-what's going on?"

The pink filly squirmed and kicked as she floated in the air, hanging upside down. All the other foals could just look on, eyes wide and mouths gaping. Diamond Tiara continued to float head down, and started to move across the room.

"How are you doing that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I don't know," Twilight answered. "I'm not."

"What-what are you doing?" Diamond Tiara cried out as she saw she was headed toward the door of the mare's bathroom. "I order you to stop this instant. Put me down. This is, like totally unfair."

The door swung open and Diamond's body pressed against it. Her shouting echoed off the walls and could be heard. Several ponies watched, mostly in confusion.

"What?!" Diamond Tiara shrieked. "NO! Don't! Don't you-"

Whatever the filly was going to say next was cut off by her screaming. The scream gave way to a wet gurgling sound, followed by the flushing of a toilet.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Silver Spoon all turned to stare at Twilight Sparkle with their eyes wide.

"You stuck her head in a toilet?" Silver Spoon asked, seeming not to believe it.

"Uhm..." Twilight shifted uncomfortably. "It was an accident?"

Silver Spoon turned and ran to the bathroom. She slammed through the door and to her friend.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Let me die," Diamond Tiara groaned.

"I'll go get your dad," Silver Spoon said. She then left the bathroom and ran out of Sugarcube Corner.

"That was the best thing ever!" Scootaloo squealed, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle scolded. "No it's not."

"It really was an accident," Twilight said. "I didn't mean to. I just... I don't know how to use magic yet, and I got so mad. It just sort of.... happened."

Apple Bloom moved over and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, giving a gentle pat.

"It's alright," the yellow filly said. "Ah know you would never do somethin' like that on purpose. Even to a pony like Diamond Tiara."

"Thanks," Twilight said with a smile. She suddenly froze, ears dropping and eyes going wide.

"Oh, saddle sores." She started to grab her stuff. "I better get home and tell Shining Armor what happened before he hears it from another pony. He's going to be mad if he finds out that way. We'll all get together tomorrow after school and see about getting our cutie marks."

She then took off, running past the Cake twins as they were coming back down stairs from cleaning up. Twilight ran for the library as fast as she could, leaving behind three conflicted fillies, two confused cakes, and one angry wet Diamond Tiara.

Shining Filthy

"And that's what happened," Twilight said, finishing up.

Shining Armor and Spike stared at the Twilight a moment, processing what they had just been told. As intended, the filly had run straight to the library and told her version of what happened at Sugarcube Corner. Now she sat and looked up at Shining, waiting to see what was going to happen.

Spike burst into laughter, falling onto his back and holding his sides.

"SPIKE!" Shining Armor snapped. He let out a sigh and looked to Twilight.

"Go upstairs," the older pony said calmly. "I'll be there in a minute to talk about this." He turned back toward Spike. "After I deal with a certain hysterical dragon."

"Okay," Twilight agreed and started for the stairs. She let out a small sigh of relief. Shining Armor seemed pretty calm, so she was not going to be in too much trouble. Hopefully it would just be a scolding or something. After all, she could not afford to get grounded, she had to help her friends get their cutie marks by the end of the week.

"Okay," Shining said once Twilight had gotten upstair. "That's enough."

"Come on," Spike chuckled. "You can't tell me that if what Twiley said was true, that filly didn't deserve something to happen to her?"

"Maybe," Shining admitted. "But, this is about Twiley. Now what happened was an accident and she's not used to her magic, so it's not something we should punish her for," he placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder, "but at the same time, she shouldn't be using her power against other ponies like that. As such, we shouldn't encourage her to do so, such as laughing our flank off at it. Understand?"

"Alright, alright," Spike conceded. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Really the only thing to do is start planning on having her learn about her magic and how to use it," Shining answered. "In the mean time, she will have to keep from using it unsupervised." He sighed and rubbed his head. "I was hoping to have more money put away in the magic accident fund."

"'Magic accident fund?'" Spike repeated, looking at Shining curiously.

"It's something my parents did with me before I became Celestia's student and also did for Twiley. Our family's been doing it for quite a while actually. When a unicorn is born, we start setting bits aside. That way, when the foal starts being able to use magic, we have something to pay for any damage they cause in case insurance or Equestria won't cover it."

"Why would you do something like that?"

"Do you remember how many fires you accidentally started when you started breathing it?" Shining Armor retaliated, raising an eyebrow.

"It wasn't that bad," Spike huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Only because most of the castle was fire-proof," Shining said with a chuckle. "But imagine how expensive it would have been if we had to pay for all the repairs or to replace things."

Spike rubbed his chin, then gave a nod.

"I guess I can see your point," he conceded.

There was a knock at the library door. Very firm knocks in fact, as though the pony on the other side was not happy about something.

"Why is somepony knocking?" Shining asked, receiving a shrug. "I'll get it." He quickly walked over to the door and pulled it open.

There, standing at the door was a brown earth pony with a black mane and tail that had hints of gray at the edges. The stallion wore a suit collar and tie. Head held high, his lips were pursed tightly, and his eyes glared with displeasure.

"Are you the father of one Twilight Sparkle?" the brown earth pony asked.

"I'm her big brother, actually. My nam-"

"So I do have the right place." He pushed his way past Shining Armor and stepped into the library, looking around.

"Can I help you, mister...?"

"I'm sure I need no introduction, but my name is Filthy Rich." He ran a hoof through his mane, slicking it back. "I am here because it seems your daughter assaulted and humiliated mine at Sugarcube Corner just moments ago."

"Oh," Shining said as the realization hit him. "Sorry about that. Twi-"

"As for how you can help me," Filthy cut in, "you could make her apologize to my princess in front of everypony at Sugarcube Corner. Then you should make sure that that hooligan never bothers my dear Diamond again."

"Uh-oh," Spike mumbled under his breath.

Shining Armor tensed, his ears twitching. Shades of red flared around the edges of his vision as he felt his face heat up.

"Excuse me?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Well it's clear to me that a filly that is willing to stick another pony's head in a toilet is no good," Filthy Rich stated. "If I ever catch her bothering my daughter again, why I'll-"

"You'll what?" Shining cut in, moving to press himself face to face with the earth stallion. "Because I really want to hear what a full grown adult stallion would do to an innocent young filly that is still in elementary school."

"Well I..." Filthy started.

"Now I get," Shining continued, "that what happened to your daughter was embarrassing, but it was an accident caused by a stressed out overly sensitive filly that is just getting old enough to start needing to learn to control her magic. I assure you my sister..." he stared a moment, letting the words sink in.

"...feels bad about it and would be more than willing to apologize for it."

"That's wond-"

"HOWEVER," Shining cut in. "From what I understand, your daughter was actually pestering and taunting my sister and her friends who were minding their own business before she showed up. That being said, it would seem to me that your daughter owes an apology not only to Twilight, but three other fillies as well. Since I don't think that's going to happen, perhaps it would be best if both sides dropped the subject and moved on."

"Now see here!" Filthy Rich yelled. "I'll have you know that I am one of the most important ponies in Ponyville. Why, there wouldn't even be a Ponyville without me. I will not let some unknown stallion talk to me like that, nor shall I allow an uncouth filly to abuse and humiliate my daughter. I will take this all the way up with Princess Celestia herself if I need to."

"You do that," Shining Armor snarled. "I'm sure the princess has nothing better to do than deal with the wounded ego of a business pony and the accidental embarrassment of his daughter at the hooves of a filly who isn't old enough to learn to control her magic yet. It's not like she has a kingdom to rule... or a sister that she hasn't seen in a millenia she would like to catch up with."

Shining Armor took a step back from Filthy Rich. The unicorn took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

"Now," Shining said in a calmer voice, "unless you have some official business here at the library, I would appreciate it if you would leave."

Filthy Rich stood there, staring at Shining a moment. The stallion then cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.

"Very well," he stated as he turned toward the door. "I shall go for now." He stopped and turned back to Shining. "But do not think that this is the last you have heard on the matter." He straightened up and stormed out.

"I'll get some horseshoes so I can shake in them," Shining called after him before slamming the door shut. He leaned against it and started panting.

"Shiny?" Twilight called out from the top of the stairs. "I heard yelling. Is everything okay?"

Shining Armor took one more deep breath and slowly let it out. He turned to look up at his sister.

"Nothing you need to worry about," he responded. "I'm going to go out for a while though. I want you and Spike to stay here and watch the library for me."

"Okay," Twilight said with a nod.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Spike asked, his voice just above a whisper.

"I hope so. I just need to talk to some other ponies and think. I'll be back shortly."

"You can count on us," Spike stated, putting an arm around Twilight's neck.

"I know." Shining gave them one more smile before going out himself.

Rarity seemed like a good pony to find out how influential Filthy Rich actually was. Granny Smith lived in Ponyville her whole life, she probably knew some thing about him as well. That would also give him the opportunity to talk to Big Macintosh and Applejack, as well as hear the story from Apple Bloom. Then there was Rainbow Dash. She seemed like a good choice on getting advice on what to do after making an impulsive mistake, especially since she was willing to admit she had done such things before.

Shining Armor suddenly felt very glad he had friends who could talk to about this.

Forlorn Friday

Twilight watched Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom head toward their class room as she and the Cake twins went toward their own.

It was Friday. Most of the other ponies were excited since it meant that they would be enjoying their first weekend from school. The foals in Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo's class were extra excited since they were all invited to a party at Sugarcube Corner, with three exceptions.

The six of them had spent all day after school both Wednesday and Thursday trying anything and everything they could do to try and get their cutie marks. They tried apple bucking. Everypony but Apple Bloom ended up being very sore from kicking at trees. They tried baking. Pumpkin did fine (seeing as it was what she normally did anyways), and Twilight's were edible. Otherwise it was fortunate that Pinkie Pie was around, and always knew where a fire extinguisher was.

The next day, at the suggestion of Pound and Scootaloo, they tried going to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash for suggestion and help. For Twilight, Fluttershy's had been the worse. She had no idea that chickens could be so vicious when it came to trying to get feed from a pony. Rainbow Dash's idea were all athletic: hang gliding, skateboarding, wrestling. Applejack was not happy about that last one since they were trying it using the farm's pigs.

At the end of the day, they were sore, dirty, exhausted, and still without their cutie marks.

Twilight kind of wished she could go and be there to support her friends. But after what happened with Diamond Tiara Tuesday, it was strongly recommended that the two avoid each other for a while. That meant that Sugarcube Corner was off limits today because of Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera. Unfortunately, it also meant that she was not going to get to hang out with her friends today. Three were going as guests (although it seemed they really did not want to), Pumpkin was going to be helping make the refreshments, and Pound had to stay to help replace the empty trays with full ones. So none of her friends would be able to spend time with her today.

"Oh come on," Trixie growled from beside Twilight, bringing the purple filly back to the present. "I know I had some pencils in here."

Trixie had her bag on her desk and was digging through it. There were papers, some books, and even a set of magic linking rings on her desk. The blue filly continued to dig through her bag, looking for something.

Twilight started to asked what was wrong, but stopped. She was pretty sure that asking would just get her a withering glare. Reaching into her own bag, she pulled out several pencils. Picking the one that looked the sharpest and held it out toward Trixie.

"Here."

Trixie looked at the pencil being held out to her. Her gaze slowly shifted from the writing utensil to the filly that was holding it. Her violet eyes narrowed as she studied the filly sitting next to her.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch," Twilight replied. "You need a pencil and I have some extras. Here."

Trixie continued to stare at Twilight for a moment. Slowly, the blue filly reached out and took the pencil from the purple one.

"Don't think this changes anything between us," Trixie snapped, turning back to her desk.

Twilight looked away, rolling her eyes slightly as she got ready for class to start.

"And... thanks." Trixie mumbled, just low enough that Twilight was barely able to hear.

"You're welcome," Twilight said with a smile. The smile was lost however, as Trixie was adamantly not looking in Twilight's direction.

Officializing

It was Saturday morning, and the library currently had six foals -- one colt and five fillies -- sitting around a table. Five of them were mostly sitting around and talking among themselves. The conversations stopped as a hoof tapped on the table to get attention. Five foals all got quiet as they turned their attention to the purple filly standing before them.

"Okay," Twilight said, "sooooo, our attempts to get a cutie mark before Friday were not as successful as some of us would have liked."

"And it made the party a lot less fun," Scootaloo said.

"It wasn't that bad," Sweetie Belle replied. "I mean we still had fun."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom agreed, "but it would have been better if Diamond Tiara didn't keep stopping by to remind of we didn't have any cutie marks yet."

"I would dump punch on her if she tried that with me," Pumpkin grumbled.

"No you wouldn't," Pound said. "You would do your best to make sure things went smoothly for the party."

"Yeah," Pumpkin conceded, "but I would have told her off."

"Which is why mom kept you in the kitchen."

Pumpkin let out a huff and turned away from her brother, saying nothing.

"So," Twilight spoke up, getting everypony's attention again, "although we didn't make it in time for the cute-ceañera, I don't think we should give up."

"It was kind of fun," Scootaloo said.

"It was also dangerous," Sweetie Belle added.

"And weird," Pumpkin stated.

"Plus we were all really sore after," added Apple Bloom.

"Does that mean you all want to give up?" Twilight asked, eyes going wide.

The other five looked back and forth between themselves. None of them really said anything, but they reached a quiet consensus.

"I think we all want to keep trying," Sweetie Belle finally said aloud, getting nods from all the others.

"Great," Twilight shouted before diving under the table. "Because while you guys were all busy with the cute-ceañera, I came home and wrote-"

She popped back up, holding a piece of paper.

"-a club charter!"

"Seriously?" Pumpkin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's a charter?" Scootaloo asked.

"In this case," Sweetie Belle explained, "it's the rules and procedures that a club or group follow for how members are supposed to act and how meetings are supposed to go."

Scootaloo blinked at Sweetie Belle as she let the information sink in, then turned to Twilight.

"And you wrote one? For fun?"

"Well..." Twilight shifted. "I did my homework first..."

"On a Friday?!" Scootaloo gave a shake of her head. "We need to get you help."

"Don't listen to her," Apple Bloom said. "You're fine."

"So, do we need to sign it or something?" Pound asked.

"Actually I need help with something first," Twilight said as she held up the charter. "I've come up with officers, rules, regulations, procedures, even penalties if a member causes trouble." She smiled. "I probably should have talked about it some, but I was really excited. Anyway, there is something I didn't come up with."

The five other ponies all looked at her curiously.

"A name."

"You couldn't think of a name?" Pumpkin asked, smirking.

Twilight let out a huff and set the charter down (which Sweetie Belle reached out and grabbed to read).

"Of course I could come up with a name," Twilight said, just under a shout. "I came up with the whole charter. I living in a library for crying out loud. I could...." She shifted. "No.... no I couldn't. Everything else was easy. Coming up with a name was hard."

Twilight reached under the table again and pulled out some paper and quills.

"But I have an idea," she announced. "Anypony who thinks they have a name can write it down. Then we can all read them, and decide on which one would be the best to use."

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Pound Cake each grabbed a piece of paper. Twilight could still not come up with a name, so she was going to let a different pony try. Sweetie Belle was still looking at the charter, reading through the rules and procedures. Pumpkin had considered grabbing a piece of paper, but more to write one as a joke than as a serious effort.

"'Any member found guilty of a minor infraction," Sweetie Belle read aloud, "will be required to purchase snacks for all other members for no fewer than two days and no greater than seven.'"

"Yeah," Twilight said with a grin. "I figured that the paying for snacks would be a good punishment, and those who behave get free snacks."

"Anypony want to cause a minor infraction?" Pumpkin asked.

"Your parents own Sugarcube Corner," Sweetie Belle said, "and you work there. You would have the most chances for snacks than any other pony here."

"It also means working with Pinkie Pie, and you know how she can eat."

Sweetie Belle gave a nod. She had seen Pinkie Pie eat a four layer cake on her own once. No chewing even. The pink pony just unhinged her jaw like a snake and swallowed the entire cake whole.

Pound, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo all finished their suggestions and passed them over to Twilight.

"What's this about an oath?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I don't see one written here."

"Well we need to know the name of our group before we can make an oath," Twilight explained. "Now, speaking of names." After mixing them up, she picked up one of the sheets, cleared her throat and read.

"Blank Flank Fighters Scoo--" she stopped halfway. "You weren't supposed to sign it. Part of the reason it's like this is so it's anonymous."

Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head and grinned, letting out a small chuckle. Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Okay, so Blank Flank Fighters." She picked up another sheet and read it.

"Cute Questers."

"It's Cutie Questers," Pound said.

"It says 'Cute Questers,'" Twilight said. "You forgot the i."

"Aww," Sweetie Belle teased. "He thinks we're cute."

"Do ya, Pound?" Apple Bloom asked. "Do ya think we're cute?"

"He was probably thinking about Twilight when he wrote it," Scootaloo added.

Pound Cake's face turned a bright red color. He let out a huff and turned to look away, glaring at the floor.

"Alright," Twilight snapped. "That's enough teasing." She let out a huff as she heard several giggles at her coming to Pound's defense. Instead of saying anything more, she grabbed the last piece of paper.

"'Cutie Mark Crusaders.'"

There was a moment of silence.

"I like it," Sweetie Belle said.

"Me too," Pumpkin agreed. "Sorry Pound."

"It's okay," Pound said. "It sounds better than-"

"Cute Questors?" Scootaloo asked, getting a glare from the pegasus colt.

"So that's three," Twilight said. "I like it as well, bringing it up to four. Apple Bloom? You're the one who came up with it."

"Yeah." Apple Bloom gave a nod. "I like it even better hearing it out loud too."

"Okay. Scootaloo?"

"Eh," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "Not as awesome as I would like, but I guess it's better than mine."

"Great," Twilight shouted with a hop. "So by unanimous decision, we are hereby known as The Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"You know," Pumpkin Cake said, "this sounds like it might actually be fun."

Bonus: Shining's Mark

Shining Armor's horn glowed as he flipped through the pages of a book.

"Have you found it yet?" Pumpkin Cake asked.

"Not yet," he replied. "Pretty sure this is the right book though."

There was a collective groan in response.

"Why can't we just take a bath?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I don't know about Sweet Apple Acres," Shining Armor answered, "but I don't have a tub big enough to fit six foals at the same time."

"OW!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

"Sorry," Twilight said. "Spike! Stop laughing. It's not funny!"

"Are you kidding?" Spike said, still chuckling. "It's hilarious.

The young dragon got a glare in response from Twilight, Pumpkin Cake, and Scootaloo. Apple Bloom was pouting, Sweetie Belle was just being embarrassed, and Pound Cake... just seemed to be confused by the whole thing. To be fair, finding yourself covered in dirt, sticks, leaves, and basically glued to five other ponies because of sap can be a very confusing situation.

Shining Armor was uncertain what they were doing -- from the sound of it, they were not even sure -- but it had something to do with trying to get their cutie marks. Whatever the case, the six of them had ended up covered in sap and slamming into each other. So instead of six little ponies running around, there was now just one pony glob.

"That's enough, Spike," Shining Armor stated. "I think the six of them all feel embarrassed enough without you laughing at them."

"Hey, Shiny?" Twilight asked. "I just realized something. You never told me how you got your cutie mark."

"My cutie mark?" Shining looked at his flank. There was a deep blue shield with rose colored burst of magic like a six pointed star. There were also three blue five-tipped stars above the shield.

"Do you really want to hear about this?"

"It's something to pass the time until we get separated," Apple Bloom said. The others gave their own assent as well.

"Alright." Shining Armor turned back to the book, looking for the spell. "Well, years ago, back in Canterlot..."

****

The little colt, Shining Armor, stood in the hall, waiting with the other unicorns. He continued to shift, moving from one hoof to the other. His eyes looked up, staring as his mouth hung open with awe. He still could not believe it.

He was actually here. He was at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Shining Armor was so excited that he could barely contain himself. He had been wanting to be here since forever.

Well, not literally forever, but to the colt, if felt like it. In actuality it had been a few months. During The Summer Sun Celebration, he had been front and center to to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun. It had been the most amazing, most incredible thing he had ever seen.

It also woke up something inside him. After that day, he became incredibly fascinated (admittedly, obsessed would probably be a more accurate term) with magic. He started to read and study every book on the matter that he could get his hooves on. Shining Armor also started practicing. Not very much at first, just basic levitation spells at first. Once he was able to flip single pages of a book, he started trying to work toward heavier objects and more complicated spells.

Then came the day. His parents -- Night Light and Twilight Velvet -- came in and told him that school for gifted unicorns was about to start a new year, and was holding interviews and entrance exams for potential new students. Which means that he would have an opportunity to go to school and learn about magic. Maybe he would even get to meet Princess Celestia again.

So it was quite a surprise when they arrived and discovered that Princess Celestia was actually right inside the doors and welcoming each young colt and filly who was arriving to try and get in. What's more, she was even talking to each one and learning their names. When she walked up to them and asked him what his name was, Shining Armor was so excited that he forgot his name.

Princess Celestia leaned down and looked closely at the young colt. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him closely, studying him. It made him feel a little nervous to have the princess looking at him so closely. It was a relief when she gave him a kind smile and gently placed her hoof on his head, stroking his mane. She left after that for some reason though.

Then came the waiting. A lot of ponies were in line and waiting for an opportunity. It was pretty clear who had made it in and who had failed. The ones that succeeded looked like they were more a pegasus than a unicorn because they were walking on clouds. The ones that failed looked like they had been run over by a carriage repeatedly.

Shining Armor noticed, he could not help it. He attempted to keep himself preoccupied by trying to look at the building, the paintings, and anything else but the ponies that were coming out. It was all still awe-inspiring to see it all. Unfortunately is was becoming less and less effective. With every pony that came out, with every step closer toward the front, Shining Armor could feel the anxiety building up inside him.

What if he failed? What would he do? This had been what he had been wanting his entire life (since The Summer Sun Celebration and his parents told him). Or what if he succeeded? Could he handle all the pressure and strain of the classes? What if he ended up as a librarian in some small town?

"Next!" a voice called from the room.

Realizing that he was that next pony being called, Shining Armor let out a squeak of terror. His entire body tensed up and he fell over, suddenly unable to move. Once he was picked back up and given a gentle pat by his father did he feel like he could move again. Taking a deep breath, he headed in.

Princess Celestia was there, as were four other ponies. They were all leaned in close and talking softly among themselves. Shining Armor could not even hear them since he was standing in the front of the room and they were all seated in the back row.

"Shining Armor?" one of the ponies asked, looking at up from a clipboard.

"Yes," Shining managed to squeak.

"Bring it in," another one of the proctor ponies said.

At the command, an earth pony came in, pushing a small cart. The cart had a layer of hay in the bottom, and resting on it was a green egg with purple spots on it.

"Now," the first proctor stated, "Please try to hatch the egg."

Shining Armor gulped as he looked at the egg. How was he supposed to do that? He did not know any spells for hatching eggs. Were there even spells specifically for that?

Giving his head a shake, he brought him back to the present and turned his attention to the egg. Closing his eyes, Shining Armor began to try and concentrate. He tried to summon his magic.

Nothing happened. His horn was not even glowing.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

Shining Armor tried everything he could think of: magic words, poses, jumping up and down. None of it seemed to work.

Come on, he thought to himself. Think. Think. THINK. He looked out through the large window as he tried to collect himself. As he did, he caught sight of something. Before he even realized it, his horn lit up.

A massive dome shaped magical shield filled the room, covering all the ponies in it. There was a massive echoing boom as the rainbow colored light smashed the windows and filled the room.

Shining Armor let out a cry as he felt the energy pressing against his shield. It felt like there was too much power. Too much for the young colt. He could not contain it all. He had to do something.

The egg.

A ray of prismatic energy shot from Shining Armor's horn and struck the green and purple shell. With a burst, a small purple and green dragon that would one day be known as Spike emerged.

Shining Armor could not stop the power. Now that it was unleashed, there was no way to rein it in and control it. The magic energy continued to shoot out. One struck Spike, making him grow until his head pressed against the top of the dome. Another hit the cart, causing the wooden wheels to sprout leaves and twigs like they were still living trees. Several beams even hit the other ponies in the room.

Shining Armor felt something touch his shoulder gently. The power slowed down before finally coming to a stop. Bringing his mind back to the present, the colt turned to find Princess Celestia smiling down gently at him. Without realizing it, he started to smile back.

"It's alright, Shining Armor," the princess stated, "you have more than passed the test." She looked up at the shattered window. "What is more, you have shown a very impressive skill in creating a shield as well as incredible raw magical capabilities. I believe that it would be best if you were to be my personal student. That is, neither you nor your parents object."

"YES!" Shining Armor shouted, hopping up and down. "YES! Yes! Yes. Yes." This felt like the greatest day of his life. There was no possible way that this could get any better.

"Oh my," Twilight Velvet said. "Shining, sweetie. It seems that you have not only made it into the school, but you have found your special talent as well."

The statement caused Shining Armor to stop and look on his flank.

****

"And there it was," Shining Armor finished, having told the six young ponies his stories.

His horn continued to glow with magic as the power encompassed the six of them. He continued to remove the sap, dirt and debris from their coats, pulling away large amounts of loose hair from them in the process.

"There we go," he said as the magic stopped. "That should have gotten all of the sap from your coats. You should be separated and free to go now."

All six of them checked themselves out. Sure enough, their coats were completely cleaned. It was like they had just been washed and brushed.

"What was it?" Pound asked.

"You mean the rainbow colored explosion?" Shining asked, getting a nod. "I'm not completely sure. I asked Princess Celestia once. She gave me a book about pegasi and their magic. The best theory is that it was a Sonic Rainboom."

"Sonic Rainboom?" Scootaloo looked up curiously. "What's that?"

"Well it's mostly just a legend. From what I understand is that when certain pegasi -- I don't know what kind -- are able to achieve the right circumstances, they are able to break through some sort of barrier. When that happens, there is a massive rainbow colored explosion that allows them to achieve even faster flight speeds."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked, eyes wide with excitement.

"If I understood it right."

"Do you think it was Rainbow Dash?" She hopped with excitement.

"Rainbow Dash?" Shining Armor repeated, rubbing his chin. "I don't know. I haven't even really thought about it in years. I suppose it's possible though."

"Come on!" Scootaloo shouted. "Let's go see if we can find Rainbow Dash and ask her. She could probably give us some more ideas on trying to get our cutie marks too." The excited orange filly started running for the door, her friends following after her.

"Be careful!" Shining Armor called after them. "I don't want any of you hurt. And keep away from sap for a while."

"I don't think they're listening," Spike said.

"I know." Shining shut the door behind him. "But what kind of big brother would I be if I didn't at least try." He shifted. "Besides, now that she brought it up, I'm kind of curious about it myself."