The Favor that Changed it All

It had been nearly ten years since Esbin and his family moved to Ponyville; over the years he and his friends played and explored around Ponyville, but most importantly continued their quest to find their cutie marks. Each of the ponies attempted numerous activities to see if any of them would achieve their cutie marks and live their lives as young adults; even though they achieved those years ago, they continued with their adventures to this very enjoying one another’s companionship. The four stayed in their home town never to be separated as they visited each other expressing their talents to one another, as they remained close friends, carried on with their special talents throughout Ponyville.

All except one…

The afternoon sun hung high in the sky as Apple Bloom trotted her way down the path into Ponyville Park; she looked to her left and right in search of Sweetie Belle, who had promised to meet up with Scootaloo and her at the park this afternoon. She spotted the white unicorn with the two-tone mane waving a hoof and trotted on over to her friend. “Hey Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Apple Bloom apologized, “Applejack needed me at the last second to help her with the apple buckin’. So whadda ya think Scootaloo wanted to see us about anyways?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged and said, “Hard to say, there’s no telling what the silly filly is up to.”

Without warning, they heard the sound of flapping wings right above them. As they looked up they saw an orange, purple-haired pegasus land right in front them and strike a pose. “What’s up girls,” Scootaloo asked, “ya missed me?”

“Define missed,” Apple Bloom grunted, picking herself up after being spooked by Scootaloo’s dramatic entrance. Sweetie Belle had her hooves over her head, having ducked away from the close landing. Scootaloo nervously laughed a little and apologized for the close encounter.

“So why did you need to see us?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah, ya seemed a lil’ spooked about something,” Apple Bloom added.

“Well it’s just that I kinda noticed something,” Scootaloo said in a worried tone. “Have either one of you guys seen Esbin anywhere?”

“Not really,” Apple Bloom answered.

“I don’t think so,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Me neither, I haven’t seen him all day for crying out loud,” Scootaloo said as they made their way over to one of the trees in order to get some shade.

“It just seems so odd for a stallion like him to go missin’ is all,” Apple Bloom said. Suddenly they heard a loud crack just above their heads as something heavy dropped from the upper branches, letting out a couple of pained-sounding ‘ow’s on the way down. A large brown-colored blob swung up and down from the lowest branch before coming to a complete stop, still suspended above the ground.

“Hello Esbin,” Scootaloo greeted the brown stallion, currently hanging from the tree by a hind leg.

“Hey girls,” Esbin said with a chuckle.

“What in the hay do ya think you’re doin’?” Apple Bloom asked with a somewhat enraged look on her face, having been scared twice in the past five minutes.

“Oh you know,” Esbin said, “just hanging around.”

Everypony looked at each other without saying a word until Sweetie Belle asked, “Seriously, what are you doing?”

Esbin sighed and replied, “Fluttershy asked me to put up these bird nests all around the trees in Ponyville, and, well, you know me- I just couldn’t say no to her.”

“Well that’s mighty kind of ya Esbin,” Apple Bloom complimented him.

“Yeah, no problem,” Esbin replied. “But um… could you any of you guys help me down, please? I’m starting to feel a little dizzy.”

“Sure thing,” Scootaloo answered. “Sweetie Belle, you cut him off and I’ll hold him up so he doesn’t hit his head on the ground.” Scootaloo flapped her wings, hovered a few feet off the ground, and pulled Esbin up by his front hooves. Sweetie Belle nodded her head, and her horn began to glow a light bluish color. With a quick swishing sound, the thin rope that held Esbin onto the tree fell limp and Scootaloo felt Esbin’s weight pull her down to the ground, but the drop wasn’t painful.

“Oohf,” Esbin grunted, “thanks girls.”

Scootaloo cleaned her hooves and said, “Not a problem, just don’t climb any more trees please.” Esbin nodded and walked alongside his closest friends, swaying left and right as he was still a little dizzy from being upside down.

“You sure you’re okay haystack?” Apple Bloom asked, seeing her friend nearly fall over himself.

“Yeah I’m okay, really,” Esbin reassured her, starting to get his bearings back.

“If you say so,” Sweetie Belle said with a hint of doubt in her voice.

“So, anypony got any plans for today? Because I was thinking maybe we could all make a trip over to Sugarcube Corner and grab a bite to eat!” Esbin chirped.

“Aahhh, I don’t know Esbin, Rarity said she needed me to pick up some fabric for her while she works on her new dresses. Maybe some other time,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah, I’m pretty busy too. Rainbow Dash promised to show me how to pull off the Triple Spin Trot manoeuver and I’ve been dying to try it out,” Scootaloo explained.

“Applejack thinks ah’m still workin’ on mah chores, if she finds out ah snuck out instead she’ll have a cow about it, ah’m sorry,” Apple Bloom said as she hung her head.

“Oh, well that’s okay, I understand. Maybe we can hang out some other day or something,” Esbin said with a smile, his disappointment lingering only for a few moments.

“Don’t feel bad haystack. We can probably hang out tomorrow after breakfast time,” Apple Bloom chirped.

“Awesome, sounds like a plan! Well I shouldn’t keep you three, you’d better go before you all get in trouble; besides I gotta go tell Fluttershy that I finished setting up all those birds’ nests,” Esbin said with optimism.

“See ya ‘round, haystack,” Apple Bloom said while waving to Esbin on her way down the path.

“See you tomorrow, you guys,” Sweetie Belle said and trotted elegantly on her way to the fabric store.

“Yeah, catch you on the flip side,” Scootaloo said as she spread her wings and took off into the sky.

As Esbin waved goodbye to his friends, he couldn’t help but think back to when they were younger and how their appearances had changed over the years. Apple Bloom’s ponytail hairstyle from her youth had grown longer, reaching a little further down her shoulders, but was still tied together by her signature red bow. One might say if they ever smell it, it would smell just like freshly cut apples. Even her tail had the same particular style as her mane. She was just as tall as her sister Applejack at this point, even though she was still a filly with her cutie mark bright and visible on her flank- a Red Delicious apple with a cherry blossom-like flower right at the top right corner of it.

Sweetie Belle was also about as tall as her sister Rarity, and over the years she had begun to inherit certain traits: her slightly elegant eyelashes, the way she would keep her head high when moving at a casual trot, as well as her habit of brushing her mane and tail every day after she finished work. She had always been able to maintain the curly volume of her mane and tail, just like her sister. Sweetie Belle had also, thanks to tutelage from Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, learned a spell to tie bow and ribbons, cut fabrics without using scissors, and levitate objects from one place to another. Her cutie mark was a double quaver musical note overlaid on a pink heart background.

Scootaloo developed a fit and toned body when she started to fly instead of using her old scooter to get around town, but she still maintained her feminine appearance. She hung around Rainbow Dash almost constantly when she first started soaring through the clouds, and her hair always had a ‘flowing through the sky’ look to it even when she was still a filly. If it wasn’t flying it was racing, if it wasn’t racing it was lounging on a random cloud taking a nap. Scootaloo had a cutie mark something similar to Rainbow Dash’s, a yellow lightning bolt with a thin blue twist wrapping around the bolt.

Esbin smiled at the thought of how much he and his friends had matured and what they had accomplished in their lives- exploring the Everfree Forest, hanging out, having a few laughs along the way, and they even got their cutie marks. Suddenly it hit Esbin like a sharp knife, as he casually turned his neck to look at his flank- only to see nothing but his brown coat color and jet black tail swaying behind him. Esbin hung his head in depression and began making his way home with his head still bowed. In a voice lower than a whisper, he asked, “When will I ever get my cutie mark?”