Sickie Marks

by TheMasterofDespair

Rating: teen
Tags: Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo, Tragedy, Gore, Diamond Tiara, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sweetie Belle, Sad, Apple Bloom
Length: 8637

The Cutie Mark Crusaders get their Cutie Marks, or Sickie Marks as they are known.

While playing in the Everfree Forest, The Cutie Mark Crusaders come across a pony nearly dead in the woods. After saving her, she decides to help them get their cutie marks. But these cutie marks seem to be a little bit... Demonic.

Published 2012-07-03 03:54:03 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-05 03:39:37 UTC

Chapter 1

Sickie Marks

Chapter 1

It was nearing the end of class, less than five minutes till the bell would ring. Scootaloo eyes were intensely focused on the clock watching the seconds tick away.

--- Tick Tock ---

Apple Bloom on the other hand was calmly waiting at her desk, writing down the assignment for tomorrow.

--- Tick Tock ---

In the desk at the back right of the classroom was Sweetie Belle who was fast asleep, with a little drool dripping from her mouth.

--- Tick Tock ---

Immediately as the bell rung Scootaloo dashed out of the classroom, leaving the rest of the class a little shaken. The remaining students followed afterwards, except Sweetie Belle who was still asleep. She awoken when she heard the door slam shut, and was a little startled to find the room completely empty.

The front doors to the school flung open, as the students charged out. “Hey Scootaloo, wait up,” called Apple Bloom.

“Hey Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo. “Thank Celestia school is over.”

“So what are we going to do today?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Oh I have an idea. But, where is Sweetie Belle?” said Scootaloo.

“I’m right here!” shouted Sweetie Belle, as she tried to catch up to them.

“So what’s your idea?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well we’re going to…” but before she could finish her sentence they were confronted by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“Aw look, the loser squad is off to find their cutie marks,” said Diamond Tiara.

“What’s it to you,” replied Scootaloo.

“Well any normal filly would have already gotten their cutie mark,” said Diamond Tiara.

“Oh, come on DT, we shouldn’t be making fun of them just because they’re a little… Slowwwwww,” said Silver Spoon.

“Slow! We’re not slow!" snapped Sweetie Belle.

“Well if you had any talent at all, you losers wouldn’t fail at everything you tried to do,” said Diamond Tiara.

“Will have our cutie marks very soon,” remarked Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, and they will be so much cooler than yours,” added Scootaloo.

“Well good luck trying. See you around, Blank Flanks!” said Diamond Tiara, as she and Silver Spoon ran off laughing.

“Jerks,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Ah, let’s just forget about them,” said Apple Bloom. “So what do you guys want to do?”

“Well like I was saying before, let’s explore the Everfree Forest,” said Scootaloo.

“Are you sure, we were told not to go there,” replied Apple Bloom.

“But that’s why it’s going to be so much fun,” added Scootaloo.

“I’m in,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Um, Okay… Let’s go,” said Apple Bloom.

Just outside of Ponyville lay the creepy and mysterious forest, Everfree. The eerie woods lay home to many strange and exotic creatures. Some were known to the citizens of Ponyville, while most remained hidden among its forage. The many trees that expanded across its fields left a seemingly gloomy feel to its dark surrounding, as if the shadows themselves held deep and untold secrets.

“Yippee,” cheered the cutie mark crusades, as they skipped happily through the forest.

“Okay Cutie Mark Crusaders what do we do now?” asked Apple Bloom.

“We should be trying to get our cutie marks,” replied Scootaloo.

“By doing what?” said Apple Bloom.

“We could… Well, I got nothing,” said Scootaloo.

“Me neither,” answered Apple Bloom.

“Ah, Sweetie Belle,” questioned both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

“W-What going on?” asked Sweetie Belle, who was not paying any attention to their conversation.

“Wait a minute, I got an idea!” shouted Scootaloo. “I’ll be right back.” She than ran off in the direction towards ponyville. In about five minutes she returned carrying a Frisbee in her mouth, “Time to get our cutie marks in EXTREME FRISBEE!”

“Awesome!” yelled both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

“Okay Apple Bloom, go long,” called Scootaloo, throwing the Frisbee. The Frisbee flew high in the sky soaring at a tremendous speed. On the ground below was Apple Bloom running as fast as she possible could, in her mind she could already see her cutie mark appearing. As the Frisbee came lower to the ground Apple Bloom jumped into the air, and opened her mouth to catch it, but found herself just out of reach. She tumbled to the ground, as the Frisbee landed beside her.

“Epic fail!” shouted Scootaloo.

“Apple Bloom, Apple Bloom, pass it to me,” called Sweetie Belle, hopping in the air. Apple Bloom picked up the Frisbee, tossed it towards Sweetie Belle, she jumped high into the sky to catch it, but instead she got smacked right in the eyes by the Frisbee.

“Wow, your both bad at this,” said Scootaloo.

“Well let’s see you do better,” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah,” continued Sweetie Belle, not noticing see was facing the opposite direction.

“Okay, bring it on,” said Scootaloo, running out into the distance. Apple Bloom picked up the Frisbee and threw it at Scootaloo. The Frisbee again soared through the air, Scootaloo who was already ahead of the Frisbee timed her jump perfectly, and caught the Frisbee in her mouth. As the came back to the ground she did a front flip, and landed on her hoofs. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were completely speechless.

“You see it’s not that hard,” said Scootaloo.

“Okay, let’s go,” said Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo tossed it towards Apple Bloom, but before she could grab it Sweetie Belle jumped in front of her and intercepted it. She then tossed it straight up into the sky, which Apple Bloom caught, as it returned shortly after.

Immediately afterwards, Apple Bloom threw it back at Scootaloo. The Frisbee flew higher than the trees. Scootaloo jumped onto a branch of one of the trees, she hopped from branch to branch until she reached the top of the tree. The Frisbee came in her direction, which led her to the far end of the highest branch, and just barely caught the Frisbee on the edge of her teeth.

“Wow,” called Sweetie Belle.

“Come on Sweetie Belle,” said Scootaloo, from the top of the tree. She than flew the Frisbee as hard as she could. Sweetie Belle chased after the Frisbee, but it was traveling to fast for her to keep up, she slowed to a stop when it disappeared deep into the woods.

“Where’d it go,” said Apple Bloom.

“I don’t know,” replied Scootaloo.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find it,” said Sweetie Belle cheerfully. She wondered deep into the woods, searching high, and low for the Frisbee. After a few seconds she was about to give up, when she saw the Frisbee stuck in a tree. She tried to reach it but she couldn’t, afterwards she decided to use her magic. Even though she wasn’t to experience with magic, she was able to remove the Frisbee from the tree, and grabbed it in her mouth.

She turned around, and was about to return to her friends, when she stopped dead in her tracks, dropping the Frisbee to the ground. In front of her lay a pony half buried under some twigs and leaves. The pony was a mare unicorn with a light reddish coat, and a white mane and tail that was as white as snow.

Sweetie Belle slowly approached the pony, looking down she could see blood, there was scraps, slashes and bite marks along her body. Sweetie Belle removed several of the leaves and twigs that covered her, trying to see if she was even alive.

“Where is she,” said Apple Bloom.

“I don’t know, maybe we should go find her,” replied Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo, Apple Bloom!” screamed Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle, what’s going on!” shouted Apple Bloom.

“Please come here, hurry!” yelled Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom quickly ran into the woods to find Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle, wha…” But they stopped in mid-sentence when they saw the wounded pony.

“W-What happened?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I don’t know, I just found her here like this,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“I-Is she alive?” asked Scootaloo.

“Yeah she’s alive, she’s still breathing,” answered Sweetie Belle. “Maybe somepony should go get help, Scootaloo can you go to back ponyville and get someone?”

“Alright, I’ll be back in a couple minutes,” replied Scootaloo. She was about to run off, but stopped when the three of them heard a moan come from the wounded pony.

“Are you okay?” asked Apple Bloom. Slowly the pony opened her eyes to see Apple Bloom staring down at her.

“C-Cute B-B-Bow,” said the pony.

“Um okay… Thanks,” replied Apple Bloom. “Look everything’s going to be okay, we’re going to bring you to Ponyville...”

“No, no I fine,” said the pony, attempting to stand up. She was able to stand up on her hoofs, only to stumble back to the ground, fortunately the cutie mark crusaders where able to keep her from falling.

“Ponyville is not that far away, it will only take us a few minutes,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Really I’m fine, I live just little deeper in the woods,” answered the pony.

"Well if you don’t want to go to Ponyville, we can at least bring you to your house,” said Apple Bloom.

“I would much appreciate it,” replied the pony. After a couple minutes of walking they reached a small wooden cabin, an accompanied her inside. Immediately upon entering the cabin the wounded pony laid down on the couch in the living room.

“Please, make yourself at home,” said the pony.

“You have a nice place,” said Sweetie Belle, as the trio started exploring the cabin.

“So what happened?” asked Scootaloo.

“Well earlier this morning, I was just wondering out in the woods, when I was attacked by several Timberwolves.

“You’re going to be ok, right?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Yeah I going to be just fine,” replied the pony. “You three are really sweet, I really wish there was something I could do to repay you.

“No, you don’t have to do that,” said Apple Bloom.

“Well that just depends what the reward is,” said Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo! She doesn’t owe us anything,” snapped Apple Bloom.

“Yeah we are just glad to help,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“Okay, fine,” said Scootaloo.

“Well I would really like to do something,” said the pony. “I noticed that you three don’t have your cutie marks.”

“Yeah,” replied the trio, looking down at their blank flanks.

“How bout I help you get your cutie marks,” said the pony.

“Do you really think you could,” said Apple Bloom.

“Trust me, I will get you fillies the greatest cutie marks ever,” said the pony.

“Awesome, Cutie Mark Crusaders rise again!” said the trio.

“Okay when to we start?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Well we could start immediately, but I just need to rest for a second,” said the pony.

“Great, before tonight we will no longer be blank flanks!” yelled Scootaloo.

The pony than closed her eyes, attempted to go to sleep, but opened her eyes again to see Apple Bloom staring at her, nearly mirroring when they first met. “Yes, Apple Bloom,” said the pony.

“I just want to know what your name is?” asked Apple Bloom.

“My name is… Bittersweet,” she replied.

Chapter 2

It was about four in the afternoon now, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Bittersweet were walking deeper through the Everfree Forest. The trio was extremely happy, knowing that they may longer be Blank Flanks. While the Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were walking just a few feet behind them, Sweetie Belle on the other hand was right beside Bittersweet, skipping happily. It was at that moment she came to notice Bittersweet’s cutie mark; she didn’t seem to notice it back when she first found her.

Her cutie mark was that of two vines, twisted into a formation of a heart. The vines were thin, spindly with a silver bark, and in alternate patterns were round glossy leaves. Sharp and rigid thorns ran along its surface, with reddish orange berries.

“Um, excuse me?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Yes,” replied Bittersweet.

“I’m just wondering, what does your cutie mark mean?”

“Well my cutie mark means to give guidance and wisdom to the young, so that may bloom into mature and outstanding ponies.

“There’s a lot of detail in your cutie mark,” said Scootaloo.

“Well each design means something different,” answered Bittersweet. “The vines mean to love and tolerate. The leaves means to protect and shelter, and the thorns mean to strengthen the weak."

“What do the berries mean?” asked Apple Bloom.

“They’re the most important ingredient, they mean to be honest and always thoughtful,” replied Bittersweet.

“That’s really amazing,” said Scootaloo. “Do you really think you can get us cutie marks as incredible as yours?”

“I will try my best,” remarked Bittersweet.

They continued their journey through the woods, but it was only within a few minutes that they reached the entrance to a large dark cave. “Okay, here we are,” said Bittersweet.

“What’s in there?” asked Scootaloo.

“In there is where you three will acquire your cutie mark,” replied Bittersweet.

“Are you sure,” questioned Apple Bloom.

“Yes, when you return you will have the strength and knowledge to get your cutie mark.

“The trio just stared at the cave, until Scootaloo finally spoke, “Okay, I’ll go in.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom glared over at Scootaloo, not really sure if they should. But then they began to think about how much they really wanted their cutie marks.

“Okay, I’m in,” said Apple Bloom.

“Let’s do it,” added Sweetie Belle.

The trio took a few steps forward, than turned to look back at Bittersweet. “Be brave little fillies and remember, true friendship can conquer anything you may face,” spoke Bittersweet. The trio then looked back into the shadows of the cave, and walked through, disappearing into the darkness.

The entire cave was engulfed in darkness, as if they were walking into the very definition of nothing. They couldn’t see what was in front of them, they couldn’t see what was behind them, and they couldn’t even see each other.

“Where are we going?” asked Scootaloo.

“To the end of this cave, I guess,” replied Apple Bloom. “If there is an end.”

“Hey Sweetie Belle, do you think you can use your magic, and give us some light?” asked Scootaloo.

“I’m not really that good at magic,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“Can you try,” said Scootaloo.

“Okay, I’ll try,” said Sweetie Belle. At the tip of her horn a light started to shine, it wasn’t too bright, but it was bright enough for them to see each other. At this point on Sweetie Belle led the trio through the darkness, but it seemed as if the light attracted the ominous shadows among the walls.

They slowly proceeded along the eerie surrounding, but they began to feel as if they were being followed. Apple Bloom glared back, but with Sweetie Belle ahead of her, she see could not see what was behind her.

“Sweetie Belle,” called Apple Bloom.

“Yeah,” answered Sweetie Belle.

“Can you shine the light back here?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Why,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“I-I think I hear something,” said Apple Bloom.

“Alright,” said Sweetie Belle, turning around towards Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “I don’t see anything.”

“Me either,” added Scootaloo. “What did you hear?”

“I don’t know, but I swear I heard something,” replied Apple Bloom.

“It’s just your imagination, your just hearing things that aren’t there,” said Scootaloo.

“Maybe your right,” said Apple Bloom.

They turned around to continue on their journey, but when Sweetie Belle shined the light forward, for a brief second a darkened image with malevolent red eyes appeared and then disappeared when the light shined on it.

“What was that?” cried Apple Bloom.

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” added Scootaloo. From behind them they could hear the infamous moans that screeched the very walls.

“RUN!” shouted Sweetie Belle.

They ran as fast as their legs could take them, but no matter how fast they ran, the shadows crept up on them, as if they were their own. The stomping of their hoofs echoed throughout the ample cavern. To make matters worse, the light on Sweetie Belle horn was slowly fading away, until they were once again lost in the dark.

More and more eyes began to emerge along the walls, as they moved forward. Nothing more than darkness, as if there was no end, but the cycle soon came to an closing, as the eyes now appeared in the distance, moving in on them. The shadows had circled them, as they cowered to the ground.

“Sweetie Belle, their afraid of the light,” cried Apple Bloom.

“I-I can’t… I just don’t have the magic,” remarked Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle, you’re our only hope,” said Scootaloo. “Please, hurry!”

The malevolent red eyes looked as if they were preparing to attack. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom sunk to the ground, with only Sweetie Belle still standing. She was trying her hardest to light up the room, but she could only manage to create a small sparkle.

The shadows pounced at the trio, about to immerse them into the dark. But in the mix of the madness, Sweetie Belle let out a load shriek, as she engulfed the room in light. Flames sprung forth from her horn, which were as bright as the sun. It all ended in a flash, as the shadows vanished in the light, an on the ground in front of the trio lay a large fire that stretched to the ceiling.

“Wow!” said Apple Bloom and Scootaloo getting up off the ground. Sweetie Belle on the other hand remained silent, just staring at the fire in front of her. After a moment the silence finally fell, and she was no longer in shock.

“Sweetie Belle, that was amazing,” said Scootaloo. “How did you do that?”

“I don’t know, I just… I just lost it,” replied Sweetie Belle.

They could see everything now, the cave was as bright as day. They could now see how deep they really traveled.

“Is Bittersweet trying to kill us,” said Scootaloo.

“She said we were going to face some challenges,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, but this is just insane,” remarked Scootaloo.

“Do you reckon we should go back?” said Apple Bloom.

“We already made it this far, maybe we should keep going,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle might be right, it’s for our cutie marks after all,” said Scootaloo. “If we can conquer this, we can conquer anything.” With those final words spoken, the trio journeyed deeper into the cave, ready for whatever lay ahead of them.

It wasn’t very long before they reached the end of the passage, and found themselves in vast chamber. In front of them was a lengthy walkway; engraved in the walkway were large silver platforms that were exactly a foot in distance from each other. The platforms were all lined up in a row, of which stretched out as far as the floor would go.

After what happened earlier they were a little suspicious of what lay before them. Trying to figure out if this was a trap, Scootaloo reached one of her hooves out and gently placed onto the platform. She than put more weight onto her hoof to see if anything would happen. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the floor, so she decided to take a couple steps forward. As far as they could tell it was completely safe to advance forward.

After a couple of minutes they reached the end of the walkway and stepped back onto the regular cave floor. What lay ahead were several steps, and reigning at the top of the steps was a cryptic pedestal with a golden object that shined ever so brightly.

“This must be the next challenge,” said Scootaloo. “We just have to go get that gold thing.”

“Well, that’s easy,” said Sweetie Belle.

“I don’t know about that, I read in one of Rainbow Dash’s Daring Do books that when Daring Do stole this idol it triggered several booby-traps,” replied Scootaloo.

“I didn’t know Rainbow Dash liked to read,” said Apple Bloom.

“I didn’t know Rainbow Dash knew how to read,” added Sweetie Belle.

“Okay you two stay right here, I’m going to go up there and get it,” said Scootaloo. “When I grab the gold thing, get ready to run.”

Slowly she made her way up the steps, and strolled over towards the pedestal. At first she wasn’t sure what to do, it all seemed too easy. She knew something was going to happen, she just wasn’t sure what. But the only way for her to find out was to take the object.

It was now or never, she swiped the object and sped off in the opposite direction. But it was only when she was halfway down the steps that she realized that nothing happened. With the object in her mouth, she approached Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

“Okay I got the gold thing, now let’s get out of here,” said Scootaloo. At this point Scootaloo wasn’t too sure whether or not something was going to occur, causing her to constantly look back towards the pedestal. But when the trio walked back onto the walkway, that’s when things started to fall apart.

The ground itself plummeted to the abyss below; the only thing still standing were the silver platforms, which now revealed to be pillars that stretched down into the never ending pit. The trio were standing on one pillar, unfortunately Apple Bloom was already moving to the next platform when floor fell, leaving her unbalanced on the far edge of the pillar. Scootaloo quickly dropped the golden object, letting it fall into the darkness and grabbed Apple Bloom’s tail just as she fell off the pillar, leaving her dangling over the abyss.

Trying to hold onto Apple Bloom was dragging Scootaloo to the edge, and the only thing now holding her and Apple Bloom from falling was Sweetie Belle, who was gripping onto Scootaloo tail. All the weight on the one side began to unbalance the pillar and cause it to sway back and worth. The swaying grew stronger and stronger; it was only a matter of time before the pillar would fall.

Scootaloo wasn’t too sure how they were going to get out of this, but there was one idea on her mind, even though she wasn’t sure whether or not it would work. “Sweetie Belle,” called Scootaloo, trying to talk while holding onto Apple Bloom’s tail. “I need you to let go.”

“What are you crazy,” remarked Sweetie Belle.

“No, don’t let go!” shouted Apple Bloom.

“Look, we’re going to fall if we don’t do something fast,” said Scootaloo. “Sweetie Belle you have to trust me. When I count to three I need you to let go and jump to the nearest pillar, than run to the exit as fast as you can.”

“But…” said Sweetie Belle.

“Please, just trust me,” said Scootaloo.

“I… Okay,” whimpered Sweetie Belle.

“Alright Apple Bloom, get ready,” called Scootaloo. “One… Two… Three!”

Sweetie Belle immediately let go of Scootaloo’s tail, and jumped over onto the other pillar. After which the pillar that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were on tumbled forward, sending them falling into the darkness.

With as must strength as she could muster, Scootaloo flapped her tiny wings as rapidly as she could. Trying to keep herself airborne was already hard enough, but haven’t to hold onto Apple Bloom made it even more challenging.

Sweetie Belle wanted to help them if she could, but she had to quickly hurry to the exit, as the pillars began to collide into one another, knocking them over one by one. Scootaloo can feel her heart beating heavier than ever, she knew that the only thing that awaited them below was certain death. All Apple Bloom could do was pray to Celestia, as she stared in fear at the blackness below.

Sweat was beating down from Scootaloo’s scalp, as she tried to fly to one of the pillar. But her strength paid off when she landed on the pillar, just as he wings were giving out on her. But it wasn’t long before that pillar was struck by another pillar, knocking it sideways. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom jumped from pillar to pillar, trying to outrun the ongoing collision behind them. Scootaloo’s strength was taking its toll, as she was starting to fall behind.

It wasn’t until Apple Bloom reached the exit and turned around that she noticed Scootaloo was still out there, just barely outrunning the mayhem that proceeded. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom watched on in anxiety, unable to do anything. Scootaloo now found herself among the falling pillars. She had very little time to even jump to each surface, as the second she landed on it, was the same second it plummeted to the darkness.

The pillar she was now on was falling forward, and the last few pillars ahead of her were already dropping. It left her with one option, to jump. To jump as far as she could. At the last second she made a leap towards the entranceway, she landed in hooves reach of the edge, gripping on for her life. Fortunately for her, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were there to pull her up.

For the moment the three of them were breathing too heavily to even speak, but after a second Scootaloo finally said the words that were on everyone’s mind, “F-Forget this, w-we’re leaving now, Bittersweet is crazy if she thinks this is how we will get our cutie marks. Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle seemed to agree with Scootaloo.

They journeyed back the same way they came, yet the scenery seemed to be quite different. “We just walked straight back right, than how come we’re in a different area,” complained Apple Bloom.

“Are you sure we went the right way?” asked Scootaloo.

“I’m positive,” replied Apple Bloom. “It should have been about right here where Sweetie Belle vanquished the shadow things, but it’s not.”

“Well then we’re going to have to find anoth… But before she could finish her sentence she was interrupted by a loud roar.

“Okay let’s go this way!” chanted Scootaloo, as the trio took off in whatever direction they could find. The roar sounded as if it were coming from a distance, but every time they heard the piercing roar it seemed to be getting closer and closer. When hope was starting to fade they could see a light shining at the end of the tunnel. They ran to it as fast as they could, but their ambitions soon faded, as they came to a stop at the sight of a cliff.

It was right there, the light of freedom shined so brightly in the distance, they could practically see the Everfree Forest. The only way it seemed to cross the gap was an old wooden bridge, but sadly it was broken. The one small section was up and standing, but the rest of the bridge was dangling on the other side of the gap.

Apple Bloom quickly walked over to the section of the bridge that was still standing, but that was as far as they could go. The only thing still attached to this side of the bridge was a small strand of rope, which swung on end of the bridge.

“Scootaloo do you think you could fly us across?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I-I can’t there’s no way I could make it that far, especially carrying you two,” answered Scootaloo.

The roar screamed throughout the cave louder than ever. Apple Bloom glared over at the bridge at the opposing end of the cliff, when an idea formed in her mind. She ran over to the loose rope, and bit off the end that was still attached to the broken bridge.

“Okay, Sweetie Belle, I need you to us your magic and raise the other half of the bridge. Do you think you can do that?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold it,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“Just long enough,” said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle walked to the edge of the cliff and summoned an aura of light that surrounded the bridge. She then moved it up till it was positioned right next to the other side.

“Scootaloo take this rope and tie it to both sides of the bridge, make sure it’s really tight,” said Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo stood on the remaining half of the bridge, and wrapped the rope around the wooden step several times before tying it into a knot. “Hurry up Scootaloo,” called Sweetie Belle, uncertain of how long she could grasp the bridge.

Scootaloo then proceeded to do the same with the opposing side, and once it was done the bridge stood as it once had. For a brief second they felt a little relived, but their joy was soon broken as the beast now appeared before them. They charged across the bridge, hoping it was strong enough to support them.

They reached the end of the bridge, and ran to the light as fast as they could. They thought they could out run it, but the beast was right on their tails, and proceeded to jumped in front of them, blocking their only exit. The trio ran off in two directions, Apple Bloom ran to the left and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran to the right. The beast set its sights on the two fillies forcing them into a corner.

Apple Bloom watched on in horror, as she saw her two closest friends about to be eaten. She was frozen in fear, it engulfed her. But in all that terror she felt a strength building up inside, she knew if Applejack was in this same situation she would do whatever it took to save her friends.

The beast lowered its jaws to reveal its many jagged teeth, which were as sharp and rigid as knives. It was at this point that they could see the beast up close; it looked as if it was a pony, but its nightmarish image was something deeper and darker. It struck at the two fillies, but to its surprise it found itself getting attacked.Apple Bloom had pounced onto its back, and sank her teeth into its neck.

With a mighty thrust it threw Apple Bloom to the ground, but in her bravery she had conquered and defeated the enemy. Blood dripped from its neck as it ran off into the shadows, disappearing into the blackness of the cave.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran up to Apple Bloom, who was spiting up the blood she had gouged out. The taste of the blood was horrid, more revolting than she had imagined. With a quick smile the trio ran towards the exit, and as soon as they were several feet from the cave, and could finally she the sunlight gleaming above them, the three instantly fell to the ground completely exhausted.

It was at that point an all too familiar voice had spoken “So did you three have fun?” asked Bittersweet cheerfully.

The trio just stared up at her with disbelief in their eyes until Scootaloo said “F-Fun! W-What the Hay was all that.”

“You are insane,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, you were trying to kill us,” added Apple Bloom.

“I wouldn’t say that,” said Bittersweet.

“Do you have any idea what we had just encountered,” snapped Scootaloo.

“Okay, do you three want to know the truth?” asked Bittersweet.

“The truth, what truth” replied Apple Bloom.

“You see the truth is you were never in any real danger,” said Bittersweet.

“I don’t think you what was in that cave,” said Sweetie Belle.

“No the thing is that it was all an illusion,” said Bittersweet.

“You mean it was just our imagination,” remarked Scootaloo.

“In a way, yes,” answered Bittersweet. “I would never put you fillies in any real danger.”

“So everything we did in there was all a lie,” said Sweetie Belle.

“No Sweetie, what happened in there may not have been real, but in your mind it was,” said Bittersweet. “You three made it all the way through knowing full well of the dangers you were facing.”

“Yeah, but we still didn’t get our cutie marks,” added Sweetie Belle.

“That’s because you haven’t realized what you really accomplished,” said Bittersweet. Sweetie Belle, it was your love and guidance that gave you strength when you were lost in the darkness.”

“I-I guess so,” said Sweetie Belle. But as she said that, she could feel an aura of light shining around her. Now positioned on her Flank was an image of a small red flame. She wasn’t too sure of what to say, but there was one question did come to mind. “What does it mean?”

“It means you will bring warmth and love to all those around you,” replied Bittersweet. A cheerful smiled seemed to form across Sweetie Belle’s face, as she heard those words.

“Now Scootaloo, it was your skill and courage, which allowed you to acquire the idol and escape across the pillars,” said Bittersweet. Just like with Sweetie Belle she could feel an aura of light shining around her, as her cutie mark appeared in the image of three gold coins.

“Wait, if my skills were my talent, how come my cutie mark is gold coins?” asked Scootaloo.

“Besacuse Scootaloo, you are so astonishing, you’re not bronze or silver, you are pure gold,” said Bittersweet.

“Wow,” said Scootaloo, glaring down at her new cutie mark.

“And finally Apple Bloom, it was your brains and loyalty that allowed you to conceive a plan, even when all seemed lost. You were able to face your fears and conquer whatever stood in your way,” said Bittersweet. Then for a third time it happen, a small aura of light shined around her, and her cutie mark appeared in an image of a brain.

“You see Apple Bloom your knowledge will help build a much brighter world,” said Bittersweet.

The images of the terrors they had just faces seemed to fade from their minds, as the rewards now felt well worth it. It seemed as if their dreams had come true. They were so excited that they sprang at Bittersweet to hug her, knocking her to the ground in the process.

"Thank you so much," cried the group.

“You three should be very proud,” said Bittersweet.

“What do we do now?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I think maybe you three should probably head back home,” replied Bittersweet.

“Oh wow, I didn’t know how late it was, Applejacks going to be really worried,” said Apple Bloom.

“Thank you so much for everything,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Maybe sometime you can come to ponyville, I think you’d really like it there,” said Apple Bloom.

“I might just do that one of these days,” replied bittersweet.

“Goodbye Bittersweet,” called the trio as they headed back towards ponyville.

“Goodbye,” called Bittersweet. “Now go and show the world how incredible your cutie marks really are. Together you three will bring true love and happiness to all of Equestia.”

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, ran off in the direction towards ponyville, skipping happily as they proceeded. They were no longer the Cutie Mark Crusaders; they’ve now accomplished everything they set out to do, and couldn’t wait for what the future may bring.

Chapter 3

The skies were now only slightly lit, as the sun hadn't fully arisen. But even this early in the morning several ponies out among the hazy dawn.

“Twilight don’t you think it’s a little early to be doing this,” said a pony, yawning as she spoke.

“I know it’s early but we’re way behind schedule, the ceremony is tomorrow, and we still have so much to do,” replied Twilight.

“Oh Twilight, I was looking for you,” called Pinkie Pie. “Okay I got everything.”

“Um, Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight.

“Okay, I got the streamers, confetti, fireworks…” remarked Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie,” said Twilight.

“Nighty eight balloons, could you believe they didn’t have hundred. I wanted to get hundred, but I guess that can do right, it’s alright, right,” added Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight again.

"I also got the super bubble maker, and the super-duper bubble maker. But just in case the super-duper bubbles aren’t super-duper enough, I got the extreme ultimate bubble maker 2.0 deluxe that is said to make bubbles way more super-dup…"

“Pinkie!” shouted Twilight.

“Yes,” answered Pinkie Pie pleasantly.

“I was thinking that this time maybe we should keep things simple,” said Twilight.

“S-Simple, but this is a Pinkie party, a party of Pinkie. You can’t party without it being Pinkied,” remarked Pinkie Pie.

“Well you remember what happened last time?” asked Twilight. Pinkie Pie just stared at her with a confused look. “The huge disaster.” Pinkie Pie expression remained the same, she just slightly tilted her head. “The reason we had the reschedule the ceremony in the first place.” At this point Pinkie Pies eyes started to widen a little bit.

“As your humble leader I come before as we honor our fellow ponies,” spoke Princess Celestia. “We are here to give thanks to them for all of their bravery and loyalty that they have performed towards everypony across Equestia.”

“Ooh, it’s time to launch the fireworks,” cheered Pinkie Pie, as she lit all fuses and watched them soar into the sky.

“At this time I would like to give a special award to my beloved student,” said Princess Celestia. Twilight’s eyes began to glow in anticipation; she could feel tears of joy flowing from them. “Twilight Sparkle for all the outstanding work you have done since the day you’ve became my student I would like you to receive…” But she interrupted by a sudden shout.

“Everypony look, a distraction,” shouted Pinkie Pie, causing everypony to look up into the sky to see all the fireworks raining upon them. Once the smoke had cleared, all that remained of the ceremony was utter chaos. All the decorations were burnt to a crisp, and the food was scattered along the ground. Everypony in the audience to Celestia and Twilight on stage, were now completely covered in ash and soot.

“So yeah, I think we should keep things simple this time,” said Twilight.

“Alright simple, I’ll get just what we need, and make sure it’s, completely, s-s-simple,” said Pinkie Pie, she than ran off to acquire the decorations, passing by Rarity who coming from the opposite direction.

“Oh Twilight,” called Rarity.

“Hello Rarity, how are the decorations coming along?” asked Twilight.

“They will be finished very shortly,” replied Rarity. “But I have some fantastic news.”

“What is it?” questioned Twilight.

“Sweetie Belle got her cutie mark yesterday,” answered Rarity.

“Wow that is great,” said Twilight. “What’s her talent?”

“I’m not really sure, she didn’t really talk about. She seemed very exhausted, and just went right to sleep,” said Rarity.

“Hold on, Sweetie Belle got her cutie mark too,” said Applejack. “Apple Bloom just got her cutie mark as well.”

“Aw, that is so adorable that they both got their cutie marks at the same time,” said Rarity.

“Do you think Scootaloo got hers as well?” asked Twilight.

“I don’t know, Apple Bloom didn’t mention it,” replied Applejack.

“Either did Sweetie Belle,” added Rarity.

“Maybe Rainbow Dash knows,” said Twilight.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” called Applejack.

“What!” replied Rainbow Dash, who was setting up a large banner with Fluttershy.

“Hey, do you know if Scootaloo got her cutie mark?” asked Applejack.

“Yes, she did. She came by my house last night to tell me,” replied Rainbow Dash.

“Oh that is so incredible,” said Fluttershy.

“Why didn’t you tell us before!” called Twilight.

“It must have slipped my mind!” replied Rainbow Dash.

“They all got their cutie marks, aw that is just so precious,” said Rarity.

“Wait, all of them, that’s so rad,” chanted Rainbow Dash, as she and Fluttershy flew down to the ground.

“Yay,” cheered Fluttershy.

“Hey Twilight, I’m back,” called Pinkie Pie.

“Oh Pinkie Pie, you have to hear… Pinkie!” shouted Twilight. Within seconds they were swarmed by piles and piles of confetti. “Pinkie!” called Twilight popping her head of the confetti. “Pinkie, I said keep it simple.”

“This is simple, that’s why I only brought like one fourth of the decorations,” said Pinkie Pie. “Oh by the way did you know that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all got their cutie marks, isn’t that fantastic.” The rest of the mare six just let out a groan in response. “Well I thought it was fantastic.”

It was beyond being just another day; it wasn’t just good or a great one. It was perfect in every way possible, the day they dreamed of since they became The Cutie Mark Crusaders. They approached their school, the sun gleaming ever so beautifully. It was as if Celestia herself summoned the most elegant ray of light to ever grace ponyville, just for them, all for them.

They advanced towards their school, with such elegance and style; they were savoring ever last second of it. Ahead of them were all their fellow students waiting for the bell to ring. For a moment everything was calm, but once everpony saw their new cutie marks, things started to get a little crazy.

“Awesome cutie marks,” said Dinky Doo.

“Yeah their really adorable,” added Ruby.

“Thour thutie tharks are reathy thuper,” said Twist.

Everpony was over thrilled to see their new cutie marks. There was only one thing that could make this day even better, and that’s when they saw them. Standing at the far end of the crowd was the pink pony, and beside her was the gray one. Scootaloo was the first to run over towards them, she was then followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

“So what do you think of our new cutie marks?” spoke Scootaloo, with a smug grin.

“Even with your cutie marks your still losers,” said Diamond Tiara.

“You wish you had a cutie mark as awesome as ours,” said Scootaloo.

“Please, your cutie marks are so lame,” replied Diamond Tiara.

“Ah I think somepony is getting a little angry,” said Apple Bloom.

“You know what, we have better things to do than hang around with you losers. Come Silver Spoon, we’re leaving,” snapped Diamond Tiara.

“Yeah see you around stupid heads, called Silver Spoon.

“Stupid heads really, you couldn’t think of anything better,” said Diamond Tiara, as they were walking away.

“Well we can’t call them Blank Flanks anymore,” replied Silver Spoon.

“Whatever,” remarked Diamond Tiara.

School seemed to drag on forever; they were just too excited to experience their new talents. But at long last school had come to an end, and for the next several hours all they did was practice with their new special talents.

“Applejack, Applejack,” called Apple Bloom.

“What is it,” replied Applejack.

“I just came up with a great idea that will really help with the farm work,” said Apple Bloom. She then handed Applejack a poorly drawn sketched of her devise. Applejack couldn’t seem to make out what the devise even was.

“What does it do?” asked Applejack.

“It’s an automatic apple bucker thing, it makes apple bucking a lot easier,” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah that’s sounds like a good idea, but I don’t know if it’s really necessary,” said Applejack.

“Well I have so other ideas,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah by the way do you mind if I leave, I have to go to Rarity’s?”

“Yeah it’s fine, but why are you going to Rarity’s?” asked Applejack.

“I won’t to see if she can design me a logo,” replied Apple Bloom.

“A logo, for what?” questioned Applejack.

“All great inventors have a logo,” said Apple Bloom.

“O-okay, I guess I’ll see you when you get back,” said Applejack.

“Bye,” called Apple Bloom, as she headed towards Rarity’s house.

“Alright Opal, it’s time to take a bath,” said Sweetie Belle. “I know you’re a little cranky, but with my talent, your crankiness will disappear and you will your be filled joy and happiness. So Opal before we begin, I’m going to pick you up and give you a hug, just so you won’t be afraid. Alright let’s get started.”

Apple Bloom had just reached Rarity’s house when she a loud shriek, seconds afterwards Sweetie Belle was ran out of the house covered in claw marks, nearly colliding into Apple Bloom as she proceeded.

“Ah, what happened?” asked Apple Bloom.

“The dumb cat,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“So I guess your new special talent isn’t going to well,” said Apple Bloom.

“I don’t know, Rarity said I just need to practice more, but it just doesn’t seem to be working right,” replied Sweetie Belle. As the continued their chat, they started heading towards their clubhouse.

“So how’s your special talent?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Well Ah got some cool ideas to help with the farm work, but Applejack says that their not really necessary. I think it would make things so much nicer,” answered Apple Bloom.

“That sound’s cool,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah it is, but ah got to ask you something?” questioned Apple Bloom.

“What,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Ah was just wondering, do you kind of miss being The Cutie Mark Crusaders? I mean love having my cutie mark, but I just feel like something is missing,” said Apple Bloom.

“I guess so,” said Sweetie Belle.

They were just a few feet from the clubhouse, when they heard Scootaloo call them from the roof. “I was hoping you ponies would show up,” said Scootaloo, as flew down from the roof of the clubhouse.

“Wow Scootaloo, you’re getting a lot better at flying,” said Apple Bloom.

“I know, isn’t it great,” replied Scootaloo, trying to catch her breath. “Soon I’ll be flying as high as Rainbow Dash. So anything knew?”

“Well, Ah been we’ve been practicing our new talent, but it just seems kind of well, boring,” said Apple Bloom.

“I know what you mean, now that we have our cutie marks we can’t really go on crusades anymore,” answered Scootaloo.

“Just because we have our cutie marks doesn’t mean we can’t go have adventures,” said Sweetie Belle.

“But if we’re not trying to get our cutie marks, than what’s the point,” said Scootaloo.

“Just to have fun,” replied Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah we did have a lot of fun on our crusades, so I guess we could go on them just to have fun,” said Scootaloo. “Well what are we going to do?”

“We can go apple bucking,” said Apple Bloom. “That was always a lot of fun.”

“Um, I’m not going to lie, I always found apple bucking to be very boring,” answered Scootaloo. “Wait, wait how about we go hang gliding.”

“No!” cried Sweetie Belle. “Last time we did that, I almost fell off.”

“You were just overacting, you weren’t going to fall,” replied Scootaloo.

“The harness broke!” snapped Sweetie Belle.

“Okay fine, what do you want to do?” asked Scootaloo.

“Um, I…” her mind than tuned out from Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and was just thinking about what they should do. “Just give me a second, I’ll think of something.”

Growing impatient, Scootaloo glared away from Sweetie Belle and over towards Apple Bloom. “Okay do you have any new ideas?” questioned Scootaloo.

“We can go apple picking,” responded Apple Bloom.

“Something that doesn’t have to do with apples,” said Scootaloo.

“Alright, how about cherry picking than,” said Apple Bloom. At this point she was just trying to annoy Scootaloo.

“I was thinking something more along the line of… But before she could finish her sentence she was cut off by a sudden yell.

“LET’S GO CAMPING!” shouted Sweetie Belle. “Yeah, we can build a campfire.”

“We can make s’mores,” added Apple Bloom.

“And we can venture out in the dark woods, who knows what adventures may await us there,” continued Scootaloo.

“Okay, the ceremony is tomorrow. We hang out all night and into the morning, and we head back in the afternoon, just in time for the ceremony,” said Apple Bloom.

“Perfect,” replied Scootaloo.

“Cutie Mark Crusa…” But they stopped before they could finish their cheer.

“Oh yeah, were not The Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Well we could be the cutie mark, cutie marked, ha, The Cutie Mark-ED Crusaders,” said Scootaloo.

“Cool, Cutie Marked Crusaders Camping!” cheered the group.

At this point time seemed to fly by with ease. They spend the next couple of hours gathering all the supplies they need for their camping trip. The last thing that was on their minds were their cutie marks, it seemed they wanted to have at least one last day as the cutie mark crusaders.

The sun was finally starting to set, as they hiked out into the woods. Although this time they didn’t go too far, they still remained in Ponyville. After their last adventure in the Everfree Forest they decided it was much better to just have a simple camping trip. After hiking for a few minutes they found the perfect location right beside a small pond to set up camp.

“Okay, let’s get started,” said Apple Bloom. “Scootaloo want to go get firewood while we set up the tents?”

“Ooh, I’ll make the fire,” called Sweetie Belle.

“Alright, you go get the firewood than,” remarked Apple Bloom.

“Yay,” cheered Sweetie Belle, as she headed back into the woods.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo than proceeded to assemble the tents. At first they couldn’t figure out which part went where, but after about twenty minutes they had the tents up and ready. It was around that point that Sweetie Belle had returned, using her magic she carried several small logs and a pile of dry twigs. Celestia had now lowered the sun completely, and Luna was raising the moon. It was the perfect time to light the campfire, and to start roasting some marshmallows.

Sweetie Belle focused her magic onto the dried logs, and within seconds it was set ablaze. The ember glow of the campfire, burned brightly with the wave of smoke elevated into the sky.

“It was than they realized their friends had not returned,” spoke Scootaloo in a creepy tone. “So they decided to venture deeper into the woods, something they should have never done. They could hear a quiet moan coming from the bushes; they thought it was one of their friends. But once they came into its sights it arose from the bushes. They ran in terror when they saw that the pony in front of them had… No head! Mwahahahaha.”

Even though Scootaloo was trying to scare them with her ghost story, either Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom we’re not really paying much attention anymore. Apple Bloom was devouring an entire bag of marshmallows, and Sweetie Belle was just blindly staring at the fire.

Scootaloo slowly walked over towards Apple Bloom, who didn’t seem to notice her. But that quickly changed when Scootaloo swopped the bag of marshmallows from Apple Bloom and run off.

“Hey!” cried Apple Bloom, as she started chasing Scootaloo in circles around the campfire. It didn’t seem to bother Sweetie Belle; her eyes remained absolutely focused on the campfire. She didn’t even blink nor twitch she just stared blankly upon the burning inferno. To try to escape Apple Bloom, Scootaloo swiftly flew up onto a high branch.

“Hey come down,” snapped Apple Bloom, leaning up against the tree. “Those marshmallows are mine, give them back.”
“I think you’re mistaken,” remarked Scootaloo. “They were yours, now there mine.” Scootaloo than began to eat as many marshmallows as she could, which was angering Apple Bloom enough that she started growling. Sweetie Belle continued to ignore them; she was lost among the fire that danced ever so gently.