Out of nowhere, a wagon full of little fillies careens into the road right in front of Cadance and Shining Armor. If it not for Shining Armor throwing up a hasty shield, it could have wiped out both of them.

Instead, the fillies smash into the glowing blue shield, scattering in all directions. The red wagon clatters down onto the road, and screaming fillies plummet into the grass on either side.

At first, Cadance had instinctively tried to duck out of the way – not fast enough to have actually saved her without her fiancé's shield, though. But once the danger has passed, she rushes out through the magical barrier to collect the fillies, filled with concern that the impact with the shield might have harmed them.

An orange pegasus, a white unicorn, and a yellow earth pony. Incredibly, all of them seem completely unharmed. They are wearing their helmets, at least, which probably helped ... but they seem to have an unnatural resilience to them, as if they do this kind of thing every day. And they seem familiar.

“You three... You're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, aren't you?” she asks. “I've heard quite a lot about you from Twilight's letters.”

“Yeah!” The orange one – Scootaloo? – says.

“And we're on a mission to find our cutie marks!” The one that must be Applejack's sister, Apple Bloom, adds.

“Isn't that lovely.” Cadance smiles. “I'm glad you're not hurt.”

Shining Armor comes around from behind her, his shield dissipating. “Yeah. You've really got to watch where you're going, and not try not to take blind corners so fast. You could really hurt somepony like that.”

The white one – Sweetie Belle? – gasps. “Oh my gosh! I just got the greatest idea!”

“Aw come on. We've got to keep moving!” Scootaloo rights her toppled scooter and connects it back to the wagon.

“No, hold on,” Sweetie Belle says. “Everypony says Princess Cadance is really great, and she's a princess. Don't you want to know how she got her cutie mark?”

“They ... they say that about me?” Cadance's cheeks blush a deeper pink. “I didn't think that many ponies outside of Canterlot even knew about me yet.”

But Shining Armor comes up next to her and leans in close. “Uh, are we sure that story is really suitable for little fillies like this? I mean, it's pretty, um...” He glances down at the fillies. “... graphic.”

Cadance shrugs. “I was hardly any older than them when it happened to me, and I turned out fine, didn't I?”

“Well...”

She jabs him playfully with her hoof. “Don't you even start! I turned out to be a princess, after all, and if I got a start learning certain things a lot sooner than little fillies usually do, I don't hear you complaining about all that experience and skill when you're the one benefiting from it!”

Shining Armor coughs and looks away. It's his turn to blush.

Cadance, meanwhile, smiles down warmly at the three fillies. “I'd be happy to tell you all the story of how I got my cutie mark, if you have a few minutes to listen.”

“No way!” Scootaloo says, gesturing for the other two to get back in the wagon. “We've got to find Rainbow Dash and ask her!”

Sweetie Belle just whines, but Apple Bloom takes the initiative and yanks Scootaloo down off her scooter. “Are you crazy? There's no way we're passin' up the chance to hear a story like that. Not all of us want to be Rainbow Dash.”

Scootaloo scowls at her. “What? You're gonna grow up to be a princess, then?”

“So what if I am?” Apple Bloom stares back stubbornly. “It could happen. 'Specially if I get the right cutie mark!”

“Really? Come on! What are the chances you'll get to be a princess when you grow up?”

“'Bout the same as you becomin' a Wonderbolt.”

“What? Take that back!” Scootaloo's whole body goes stiff, and her fur stands on end.

Apple Bloom crosses her hooves in front of her chest. “I will when you take yours back.”

As the other two stare each other down, Sweetie Belle plops herself down in a sitting position in front of Cadance. “I'd love to hear how you got your cutie mark, Princess!”

“Well then I'll just have to tell you...” Cadance gives her in particular a special smile. “Why don't you two come sit down,” she says to the others. “I promise it's a story worth hearing. And who knows, maybe it will help you get your cutie marks.”

Apple Bloom comes over in front of Cadance with a smug little swagger and plops herself down. Scootaloo is more reluctant, letting out a plaintive little whine, but sitting down next to the other two all the same.

“Now,” Cadance says, grinning to herself as she goes over the pleasant memories in her head, “It all started when I was hardly any older than you three are now. Back then, I lived in a little town called Heart's Rest, just outside of Baltimare, with the two ponies who adopted me, Pickle Park and Amber Gleam...”

Author's Note

This story was chosen by my Patreon supporters! Every month, I take suggestions from my supporters and let them vote to determine which story I'll write next.

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