The Cutie Mark Cutters

Sweetie Belle stared outside the window.  Rain poured heavily, fighting against the purple, shimmering, cobblestone walkways of her small town of Ponyville.  "Whatever is the matter, Sweetie?"  The filly looked back at her older sister as she studied over her.  Her big blue eyes and the array of diamonds on her cutie mark shimmered, with small silver flakes all around in her fur and a darker purple shimmer streaked through her beautiful hair.

"Nothing, sis."  Sweetie Belle gave her a fake smile.

"Well alright then.  Maybe your little friends can cheer you up?"  Rarity took her glasses of with her magic.  The purple dust swirled around her horn softly and a few sparkles fell to the floor.  "They can stay overnight if you wish."  Sweetie smiled for real this time.  She nodded quickly and bounded to Rarity quickly, huddling up around her hooves.

"Really?"

"Of course they can," Rarity sang and rolled her eyes to herself.  Sweetie only ran back to the window as Rarity dialed on her phone quickly.  "Applejack, may Apple Bloom stay with Sweetie tonight?"  After a few calls, she put the phone down and walked back to the seat that Sweetie sat on.  "You'll have to excuse Pinkie Pie and me.  She'll be helping me with getting some things, and when she get here the storm will be a lot worse.  I guess I'm having a little sleepover of my own."  She laughed a bit to herself and trotted off to a table, looking at various blueprints.

"Why get Pinkie to do it?  Why not anyone else?"

"Keep it a secret, alright?"  Rarity smiled warmly once Sweetie nodded silently and Rarity flipped her mane out of her eyes.  "She's never told anyone, but you can see those little hearts in her eyes."  Her eyes glanced over the blueprints.  "She would do anything for me."

"Like Spike?"

"Well, yes."  Rarity nodded and took her pencil with the magic.

"She's a girl, though."

"You'll understand one day, Sweetie Belle.  For now-"  Rarity gasped and her eyes widened.

"Are you alright?"  The sparkles picked up the phone and she dialed the numbers quickly.

"Pinkie," she cried out worriedly.  "Mr. Cake, let me speak with her!"

"Rarity," Sweetie questioned and hopped up to the table.

"Pinkie, I forgot to tell you to get the pink and not the green.  Or maybe the blue?  Get both!  That's it!  See you when you get here, darling."  She hung up the phone and smiled down at Sweetie.  "What are you girls going to do?"  Sweetie stared blankly at a pair of scissors Rarity had.  "Sweetie?"  The blades shimmered...  What if they shimmered red...  "Sweetie."

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?  You seem off today."

"No, I'm fine," she snapped quickly and looked around.  Sweetie couldn't look at the scissors again.

"Scoots, let's go!"  Scootaloo threw her things in a backpack and the thunder roared loudly.

"Coming!"  Her hooves clicked on the floor quickly.  She was excited about going to Sweetie Belle's house for the whole night.

"Scootaloo!"

"I'm here!"  She landed next to Rainbow Dash with a big grin and her backpack in her mouth.

"Got everything?"

"Yeah."  She climbed up on Dash's back and held onto her mane gently while Dash soared out of Cloudsdale.  Since it was raining, Dash tried to get to the ground immediately, but Scootaloo usually loved to look down into Ponyville from the height.

"You be good now, got it?"

"Sure thing," she yelled back through the loud rain, giving her a quick hug before she ran into the house.  Rarity greeted her and watched Rainbow Dash flopping around to try to get into the sky.  Her wings were too wet for her to fly.

"Rainbow Dash, please come inside," Rarity called and held a towel in her magic, the other wrapped around Scootaloo already.  Rainbow Dash ran into the house and slammed the door behind her, taking the towel quickly.  With a grunt, she held it up with one hoof and wiped her face off softly with it.  "Is that Fluttershy with Twilight Sparkle?"  Dash looked out the window and nodded a little.

"Hey," she shouted after opening the door, "why are you being dumb?"

"Don't be rude, Dashie!"  Rarity bumped her out of the way and called them into the house.  Before she could shut the door, Pinkie Pie shoved herself into the door.  Her muddy body fell to the floor and she panted, trembling and cold.  Rarity wrapped her up in a towel and hugged her close, smiling at her a little.

Before long, Scootaloo watched the six older ponies wrapped up in blankets, drinking hot tea and telling about why they were out in the storm.  Scootaloo looked to Apple Bloom and smiled a little bit.  "It's kinda cold in here."

"I guess it's just because the sky got colder."

"Hey, girls," Sweetie piped up, "I had a thought...  Some other way to get our Cutie Marks."

"What is it?"

"What if we studied everyone else's marks?  Kinda took them from them."  The girls exchanged looks.  That was the best idea she had heard since they began the crusades.

Apple Bloom went to the kitchen.  She watched the older mares continuing to talk while Rarity and Pinkie had moved to one blanket.  Pinkie had her head rested on top of Rarity's and every once in a while she would nod to pretend she was engaged in the conversation.  Apple Bloom snuck through the kitchen and held her pack close.  She just had to get anything sharp and gallop back upstairs.  Her hooves made not a sound on the tile and she looked up.  The knives.  She propped up on Sweetie's stepping stool, but she fell down in a loud heap.

Her focus turned to the group of mares.  The only one to notice was Pinkie, who smiled a little and winked at her to tell her it was alright.  She tried once again and threw the purse onto the counter.  With a quick movement she threw every knife, can opener, pair of scissors, or sewing instruments she could find into the pack and she began to bolt back upstairs.

"Applebloom, what the hay are you doin'?"  Apple Bloom cringed at her name and turned slowly.  She had gotten everyone's attention.

"Gettin' some apple cider?"

"A'right, just makin' sure."  Applejack nodded to her and looked back to the game they were playing.  With a few leaps she was in Sweetie's room and panting.  Sweetie locked the door with her magic and smiled at the contents in the bag.

"You even got tape," she pondered in awe and grinned widely with a disturbing, blank stare in her eyes.  "Get one."

"What?"

"Go get one, Scootaloo-"

"On it," she giggled and threw open the door.  Then the voice bellowed throughout the house.

"HEY FLUTTERSHY GET UP HERE!"