Conversations of Cutie Marks
The mare carried the yawning foal up the staircase. The foal sat atop her back. Clinging to her mother's yellow coat, she stifled a yawn, claiming she wasn't the least bit tired. The mare chuckled lightly, gently blowing at the orange strands that'd come out of her braids.
"I know, but you will be." she smiled gently at her daughter's freckled face as she pushed the door open. She crossed the room to the bed, crouching beside it as the filly crawled off. She crossed the room yet again, picking up a brush from an old vanity, which had long since been turned into a homework desk. She turned back to the filly. She'd flung her single braid around her head where in rested over her face, and was busy fiddling the red band with her hooves. "Want some help?"
"Ah can do it!" the filly replied proudly, wincing as the band came off with a few strands of hair. Her southern accent was thick, like her father's. Her mother sat down on the bed, using her hooves to undo the braid. The filly sighed, eyes drooping as she tried to fight off sleep. Her mother glanced down at her.
"Your teacher came by while you were outside playing."she kept her tone even. The filly's eyes shot open and she felt her body tense up.
"W-whadid she say?" her voice wavered.
The mare gripped the brush between her teeth as she ran in through her daughter's golden hair. "She said that you're doing very well on your school work." The filly let out a quiet sign and allowed herself to relax. "She also said you hit another student today." Again, the filly tensed up. "You wanna tell me about it?"
The filly turned around as her mother set the brush on her nightstand. "Well...Carrot Top was braggin' 'bout 'er cutie mark..."
"And so you hit her?" the mare skeptically raised an eyebrow.
"She was makin' Rarity feel bad!"
"I talked to Rarity's mother today, and she told me that Rarity got her cutie mark last week."
The filly lowered her eyes quietly, refusing to look at her mother. She felt a hoof reach under her chin as her head was lifted up.
"I need you to be honest with me, dear."
"What's 'honesty' mean?"
"It means to be truthful, even when it's hard, or when you might get in trouble."
"Well...it's just...Carrot Top got 'er cutie mark yesterday, and Rarity got 'er's last week, and..." she trailed off, sniffling.
"Go on." the mare pressed. She wrapped a hoof around the filly, pulling her close.
The foal buried her face in her mother's green plaid apron. "And, she just kept talkin' 'bout how amazin' it was to finally know what she was meant to do, and I just wanted her to stop. I only meant to touch her shoulder, like you 'n Daddy do when y'all want me to be quiet, but Bubba's been showin' me how to do some of the harder chores and Ah musta been too hard. Ah din't mean to! Honest, Ah din't!" the foal glanced up with the biggest puppy eyes she could muster.
"I believe you. But it doesn't change the fact that, whether you meant to or not, you did punch another student, which means you need to come straight home from school tomorrow to write an apology letter."
"Yes ma'am."
"Now, what I don't understand is why it bothered you so much." The mare looked down at the foal, concerned.
"Well," the filly stood on her bed "it's just that Ah'm the only filly in mah class who ain't got 'er cutie mark yet and...and...and it just ain't fair!" she punctuated the sentence with a stomp.
The mare smiled. "Oh, Sweetpea, is that all? I was the last filly in my class to get a cutie mark. And your daddy was the last colt. "
"Bubba has his cutie mark." the filly pointed out, crossing her forelegs.
"Bubba is older than you."
"Yeah, but-"
"Your cutie mark will come when it's time."
"Ah know, but...there's somethin' else..."
"What is it?"
"Rarity's been actin' different. More like them fancy ponies from Canterlot. And, when I do get mine, or to get mine I don't wanna change."
Her mother smiled. "Oh, Sweetpea, your cutie mark is a representation of who you are. You don't have to change to fit it, or to get it"
"Honest, Mama?"
"Honest. Feeling better now? No more hitting your classmates?"
"Mmhmm..." the filly whispered sleepily."
"Right then, time to get you to bed." she laid the filly down against her pillow before pulling up the quilts, singing as she did so.
"Hush now, lil' darlin'.
You're loved by all you know.
You'll never lose their friendship,
no matter where you go.
"There ain't no call to worry,
so don't you cry or fret.
A cutie mark won't change you,
no matter what you get."
The filly yawned, lulled by the sweet lilt of her mother's voice. "G'night, Mama."
"Goodnight, my darlin'" she gently kissed her daughter's forehead. "I'll see ya in the mornin'" The mare flicked off the lamp before walking to the door.
"Mama?"
She looked over her shoulder. "Yes, dear?"
"Ah was wonderin', if it's a filly, can we nam 'er Apple Bloom?"
The mare smiled, first at the filly, then down at her swollen belly. "I'd like that very much, Applejack. Now, get some sleep."
The filly grinned as she laid her head down. With one more look at her daughter, the mare closed the door.
"What if it's not an apple!? Will I have to move out!? Where will I live!?"
"Alright, that's enough, Sugarcube. Those are way too many questions to answer in one night."
"But-" Applebloom shot up with a protest.
"And nopony's gonna make ya move out!" the older mare pushed the filly back down on her bed before pulling the sheets up.
"Are you sure, Applejack?"
"Course I'm sure. Now, get some sleep.You'll see. It'll all be better in the mornin'" Applejack rubbed her hoof against her sister's head, recalling a conversation from many years before. She let the familiar words flow from her mouth.
"Hush now, lil' sister,
you're loved by all you know.
You'll never lose their friendship
no matter where you go.
"There ain't no call to worry,
so don't you cry or fret." she moved out the door, flicking off the light.
"Your cutie mark won't change you,
no matter what you get."
Applejack walked slowly down the hallway, humming quietly to herself. A few moments later, she glanced up at the wall, stopping short at the sight of the photo. Two ponies, a stallion with a mare leaning on his shoulder. The stallion had a foreleg wrapped around the mare. dusty red coat, blonde mane, and reddish-orange eyes; almost a spitting image of Big Macintosh. The mare, however, had a golden coat, orange-red hair, and deep green eyes. Most of the town knew these two as Alexander and Ambrosia Apple. Applejack knew them simply as Mama and Daddy.
She reached out and traced her mother's smiling face with her hoof. A few tears rolled down her face.
"Applejack?" the voice appeared next to her. She turned her head to meet her grandmother's gentle eyes. The elderly mare laid a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "Don't you be worryin', now, chickadee. I heard ya singin'. You sound just like your mama did, when she was your age."
"Ah wish she were here. She was a whole lot better at relievin' foal's worries than Ah am."
"She'd be proud bout how you've raised Apple Bloom. They'd both be."
The younger mare's eyes glistened with tears. "Oh, Granny, Ah miss 'em so much!" she choked out a sob, throwing her forelegs around her grandmother's neck.
"Shh, young'un." Granny Smith's voice cracked, she too crying at the thought of her late daughter and son-in-law. "I miss 'em too."
"T-they w-w-wo...won't even g...get to see 'er get her c-cutie mark!"
"I know, sweetheart, but you will. You gotta be there for her when she needs somepony to mother 'er when she needs it, just like how Big Mac's there for 'er when she needs 'er daddy."
"A-ah know."
The older mare rubbed her granddaughter's shoulder. "Now, you need to git some sleep yerself."
"Alright, Granny. Ah'll see ya in the mornin'." She smiled gently through her tears. Casting one last wistful glance to her parent's smiling faces, she turned and walked towards her room. Granny Smith watched the mare leave.
"Oh, Ammy," she whispered "you raised a good girl."
Author's Note
This was just an idea I'd been toying around with after watching Bloom and Gloom.