Just a Mark

by FictionFreek

Rating: everyone
Tags: Pinkie Pie, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other
Length: 2338

I'd spent years hiding, but now I have a new chance at living my life. And with a new body to boot, it looked like I would finally be able to have a normal life. But there is just one minor thing missing.

I'd spent most of my life as nothing more than a clone of somepony else. But thanks to that pony I was given a second chance. But while I've tried hard to leave that past behind me, it seems it's not quite ready to let go. I may have my own name, my own face, and my own body, but there's something I still lack. A Cutie Mark, the very thing that defines a pony still eludes me even after all these months.

But it's out there, somewhere. I don't know where or when, but I will find out what it is I'm destined to be.

Published 2018-01-14 18:30:07 UTC
Last updated 2018-01-14 18:30:07 UTC

Chapter 1

There are a few things that you’ll never get used to in your life, events you’ll try to avoid as much as possible but will always have to face eventually. These things can range from pony to pony and sure, not two ponies will dread the same thing. But if you asked me there has to be that one thing that anypony, no matter their age, gender, or experience would have to agree is the worse. And I would say that any kind of doctor’s appointment would be on the top of anyone’s list.

Doesn’t matter what kind of doctor, nor does it matter what the appointment was originally for. From the unbearable wait times to finally sitting on the doctor’s office, there’s just some universal feeling from it all. Like you’re in some other world where everything moves slower and you think it’ll never be over. Then there’s getting checked on by the doctor and dreading that they might find something wrong with you.

And then after you’ve suffered hours of waiting, having things poked at and sampled, and given a list of ways to ‘improve yourself’ you’d think it’s finally over. But just as you’re ready to finally get out and back to the world you are then, of course, given a date for yet another checkup. Meaning you’ll have to come back and start this cycle all over again.

That’s not to say that all visits are like bad, in fact sometimes they could be something you could look forward to, under very specific circumstances. Like say, if it means you’ll also get to visit friends and spend time inside a giant crystal castle. Though if I had to be honest, having a hole bunch of machines hooked up to you while an Alicorn princess performs a deep magic scan on you might sour the flair just a bit. But I trust her, more so now than I thought I could for a long time, so I know that I don’t have anything to worry about.

I know it might sound crazy for somepony, or any pony for that matter not being able to trust a princess, let alone the princess of friendship. But for a long time, I didn’t see her as a pony who would do anything for a friend, rather I saw her as a pony who could end my life. Not in the way you’re probably thinking though, it’s actually a strange story. One that explains why I’m in the castle getting inspected by Twilight Sparkle herself.

The short of it is because of what I used to be, though I was always a pony, I didn’t always have the face I have now. I looked different, talked sounded different, and for most of my life I was a completely different pony all together. In the shortest possible explanation I can give, I was a clone, as strange as that sounds. But that part of my life is behind me now, and I’m more than happy to live my new life, all thanks to Twilight and her friend.

“Okay, I think we’re done.” I let out a sigh of relief, these tests always seemed to drag on endlessly. Using her magic Twilight carefully undid all the things hooked to my body and I was finally able to stand and stretch my legs. While I got back the feelings in my hooves I saw Twilight walk up to another machine printing out a long parchment.

“So, what’s the news?” I usually dread asking this, there’s always a hint of anxiety that something will be wrong. That anxiety growing as I watch Twilight read through the parchment without so much as a visual que that something is different thig time.

“Good news, you’re having twins.” Maybe it’s because my legs were still asleep, or it was because of the sudden rush of adrenalin that hit me in the moment. Either way I hit the ground harder than a wingless dragon off a cliff.

“Not funny…” I groan, but when seeing the sly grin on Twilight face, I wouldn’t help but smile a little. “Okay, it’s kinda funny.” Twilight reached out a hoof and helped me back on my hooves, again turning her attention back to the paper.

“But in all seriousness, everything is the same as last time. Heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterols a little high but if that’s the worse of it you don’t really have anything to worry about.” She paused after that, which means there’s a but coming.

“But…” Called it “Because all the normal scans have been coming up the same, I decided to try something different this time.” Twilight walked toward the center of the room, her horn was glowing along the way. I watch as something started to form just above the ground. A pink mass of magic with balloon shaped orbs around it.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“That’s you, at least the magical representation of you.” And now I’m officially lost “Basically think of this orb as your entire being. Pretty much every pony, regardless of species, has their own magical index that defines them. For example, here’s mine.” Another mass of magic appeared next to mine, this time it was purple with wings, six white stars floating around it. I looked between the two in front of me, slowly I started to understand.

“What does Pinkie’s look like….” I heard Twilight let out a sigh, and soon a third and final mass appeared, one that looked exactly the same as mine. I bit my bottom lip and looked away, while I try not to think about it, there had been one slight worry in the back of my head. And after seeing this, it all turned out to be true.

“So, after all this I’m still her deep inside.” If you hadn’t realized it by now, I was Pinkie’s clone. Something I had to live with for a few years. But after she and Twilight found me I was not just gifted with a second chance at life, but a new body as a bonus. And I’m grateful for that, I’m grateful to both of them. But that doesn’t change that deep down, it’s still painful, still hurts to know I can never fully detach myself from what I was.

I think Twilight could sense that hurt too because she placed a hoof around my shoulder. “Listen, this doesn’t change who you are. You still have your own identity, your own life and name, nothing can take that from you.” I took a deep breath, she was right, and sulking definitely wasn’t something I should waste time with. Plus, I liked my name, it took a while to choose but I was fine with being called that for the rest of my life.

“Thank you.” After a few minutes Twilight and I made our way out of the examining room and into the kitchen. While I was being tested there was somepony else who couldn’t wait to catch up. And of course, she was already finishing up with the pastries she’d prepared for us.

“Who wants cookies?!” Pinkie called out in her usual bubbly voice, a platter full of cookie in one hoof and another with glasses of milk on the other. We all accepted of course, nopony in their right mind would turn down something Pinkie’s baked. So, with the fresh scent of chocolate chips in the air, we all sat in the dinning room and talked.

“So, how’s life in Manehattan now?” While I originally took refuge in Manehattan to keep a low profile, I ended up staying. Now that I didn’t have to hide my face it’s been incredibly fun enjoying the things I’d had to stray away from before.

“Not bad actually, I started going to rave parties. DJPon3 makes a lot of appearances there and they’re the most fun you can have.” I think I’d still love to party even if I wasn’t the clone of the most party hyped pony in Equestria. The music, the dancing, even the strobing lights were just something I know I’d enjoy otherwise. Maybe it’s because I’d spent so long closing myself off that I’m taking every opportunity I can to finally be myself in a crowed.

“Oh, and thank you for helping me ‘move out’”. While I tried to hide myself as best I could it didn’t change the fact that the owner of the apartment complex knew what I’d looked like. So, when I got my makeover I had the problem of still living in the same apartment without anypony noticing that a unicorn lived there and the earth pony had suddenly disappeared. But Pinkie posed as myself and moved out of the apartment, then I just moved back in soon after.

“It was fun, I never had to play myself playing someone else before!” I’m almost positive that wasn’t true.

“Well you did perfect, you’re a mare of many talents, Pinkie.” I complemented, downing yet another of these amazing cookies. We all fell into a silence after that, the only sounds being the crisp of every bite and the chugging of milk. But while I was snacking, I looked over and noticed Twilight wasn’t, instead she toyed with a cookie in her magical grasp. It wasn’t hard to see that there was something on her mind, but what that could be was anyone’s guess.

“Something wrong, Twilight?” She looked up at me then back down to her cookie, now I was starting to worry a little.

“I think we should bring up the elephant in the room.” Pinkie, for some reason, spat out her milk and turned to Twilight.

“You found him?!” We both looked to Pinkie almost immediately, arched brows all around. When she saw this she quickly backtracked “Um, I mean, what elephant?” try as she might that was still the least convincing smile I’d seen.

“Okay I clearly need to get back to you on that, but no, I mean something else.” She then turned to me once again. “It’s been a few months since you got your new body, has there been any change about ‘you know what’?” Oh, right, another slight complication that came after I got my new body. I got up from my chair and dusted off some crumbs from my clothes. I’d gotten into wearing them, though not for fashion reasons. Okay maybe a little bit, but it was also because it allowed me to cover something with little to no explanation.

I pulled up the dress to show them what I was hiding, or rather what I wasn’t hiding. The spell Twilight cast on me all those months ago changed me in so many ways. From my amber colored coat, to my vanilla shaded mane, I was even given a horn. But for everything I was given, something seemed to have been taken as a cost. While it may have been the same as Pinkies, I did used to have a cutie mark, but after my form was changed it somehow disappeared.

What’s strange was that it wasn’t something that happened right away, rather I just woke up a few days later and it was just gone. It’s kind of the reason why I get my checkups from Twilight, to make sure nothing else strange happens. Problem is despite all tests and scans, she still can’t seem to figure out what caused it to vanish.

“Hey don’t let something like that get you down!” Pinkie appeared next to me and wrapped a hoof around my shoulder. “You know why I think it vanished? I think it’s because deep down inside you knew that it wasn’t who you are.” The world got a little warped, having Pinkie randomly spin you when you aren’t ready can cause that. When everything stopped spinning though I found myself looking out one of the windows.

“There’s a world of possibilities out there, so much to explore and so much to experience. Your real Cutie Mark is out there, you just got to get out there and find it!” Her optimism can be infectious sometimes. Something I wish I had it too, this way I could always look to the positives and not freak out so easily.

“Pinkie might not be that far from the truth.” Twilight joined us by the window, looking out into the distance. “There’s still a lot we don’t know about Cutie Marks, and that’s something that’s been studied for thousands of years. But there is one thing we do know, and that is a Cutie Mark is who you are and who you will be. The fact that you once had someone else’s Cutie Mark and it disappeared could very well mean that you are meant to be something more.” I couldn’t help but smile at this moment. Months ago, I was afraid to ever be in the same room as these two ponies. But now here we are, sharing a tender moment.

I don’t really know what might happen, or if I am really destined to get my own Cutie Mark someday. But when I have support from friends like them it’s hard not to try and think positive. So maybe it’s truth, maybe I just need to really try and find what I’m good at. But for now, I just want to enjoy this moment a little bit longer.

Author's Note

After a while I finally decided to get around to making a sequel to the Just a Clone story I wrote a while back. I was surprised by how well received it was and by the number of people wanting to see a continuation. It took a while to figure out how I wanted it to start and weather or not it'd be a full story or a one-shot.

I hope you enjoy this as much as you did the prequel, and hopefully I can keep up the quality of this story.

Until next time.