The Quest for the Cutie Mark
Scootaloo was waiting with Sweetie Belle on the playground. Apple Bloom said she had some exciting news, and Sweetie Belle was bouncing around with excitement.
"Maybe she found a way for you two to get cutie marks!" she squeaked. She glanced at her own cutie mark, a silver bell surrounded by music notes. Scootaloo beamed.
"I hope so!" she said as Apple Bloom appeared, rushing towards them.
"Oh Celestia, you two won't believe it!" the yellow filly shrieked in joy.
"What is it?" Scootaloo replied, her expression brightening with the same amount of happiness.
"I got mah cutie mark!" Apple Bloom smiled from ear to ear; flashing her flank to her best friends. The cutie mark was an apple shaped barnhouse. "Would ya believe it? I was just helping Big Mac with the farm animals and POOF! Here it is!"
Sweetie Belle started jumping around with her friend, and Scootaloo's expression fell. She was now the only filly in her class without a cutie mark.
"Aren't ya excited?" Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo. The orange Pegasus smiled sadly.
"Yeah, that's awesome, Apple Bloom. It suits you..."
"I know!"
"But wait!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed; silence now forming between the three friends.
"What?" Apple Bloom inquired, her eyebrows knit.
"Don't you see? ... We can't be The Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore."
"Whaddya mean?"
"I mean, we both have cutie marks now! We can't be the cutie mark crusaders if there's only one of us without a cutie mark!"
"Oh...." Apple Bloom frowned. "Yer right..."
"We can still help Scootaloo..." Sweetie Belle began.
"It's fine; I can find my cutie mark myself." Scootaloo tried another smile.
"... Are ya sure?" Apple Bloom inquired.
"Yeah!" Scootaloo faked a smile. "After all, isn't that how you two got yours?"
"... That's true!" Sweetie Belle grinned.
"I'll have my cutie mark by the end of the week!" Scootaloo said confidently. "Just you wait!"
~XoXo~
... A week passed and now it seemed as if almost every filly in Ponyville alone had their cutie mark... Except Scootaloo...
Why?!? She had done everything 'by the rules' to get one. She had been herself and nothing but herself...
Isn't that how cutie marks normally popped up anyway?
... Her friends had stopped talking to her as often as they used to, choosing instead to compare cutie marks with others and it wasn't fair. She wanted to be a part of that.
Even the youngest filly in the school, Dinky Hooves, got her cutie mark, just two days ago, for pony's sake!
Why?
"Hey! Hey, Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle's cheerful voice came from the other side of the play yard.
"Hi Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo beamed; jumping off her swing and running over to her friend.
"Did you come up with a way to get your cutie mark yet?" she asked. Scootaloo shook her head.
"Not yet, but I have to get mine soon!"
"... Well, you know you can't rush it!" Sweetie Belle smiled. "Just... keep doing what you're good at!"
"... Are you Miss Cheerilee in disguise?" Scootaloo joked. "I know, everypony keeps telling me that!"
"Well, what are you good at?" Apple Bloom asked. "There's lots of things, but you need to choose the best one!"
"... I don't really know what I'm good at..."
"Scooter-flying...?" Sweetie Belle tried.
"Nah. That's not really special..." Scootaloo muttered.
"No other pony can do it though!" Apple Bloom piped up.
"Well... that's true..."
Then, the bell rang; alerting the students to reenter the schoolhouse and as they all did so, Scootaloo couldn't help but feel... jealous.
Every single pony in her class had a cutie mark except for her. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were now being nice to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle because of their cutie marks, and Scootaloo was excluded.
... Her quest would only have to keep going.
... Maybe she could ask other ponies in Ponyville how they got their cutie marks? Like really important ponies.
~XoXo~
Now that school was finally out for the day, Scootaloo was out on her mission... Her friends didn't even bother to notice her, flying off on her scooter, past them...
Frowning slightly, she pushed aside the thought of that and started to think Who are some really, really important ponies in Ponyville?
There was Mayor Mare, but she was very busy. Twilight Sparkle was a unicorn, and her cutie mark was related to magic. Magic was for sure not Scootaloo's special talent.
As she buzzed through town, she looked side to side; up and down, when her eyes caught upon a very important (well, somewhat important) pony in Ponyville... There standing by a shop window was...
"Hi Miss Octavia!" Scootaloo beamed, screeching to a stop in front of Octavia; she was a well known cellist who sometimes performed for Princess Celestia! That was super important!
"Oh... hello..." Octavia glanced around. Other than her and Scootaloo, this shop area was deserted.
"Um..." Scootaloo shook her helmet off. "You're real important in Equestria, aren't you?"
"... Well, darling, I wouldn't say I'm an important pony in Equestria..."
"You sure are! Isn't it true, you played for the Princess?"
"Just once..." Octavia replied, sheepishly.
Scootaloo shrugged. "Still! Can't you please, please, please tell me how you got your cutie mark?"
"... Tell me, dear, why you need to know?" Octavia questioned, with a raised eyebrow.
"Because..." Scootaloo let out a deep sigh. "I'm the only pony in my class without a cutie mark..."
"You are now?"
"Uh-huh..."
"Well, that's an easy story. When I was a very young filly, my mother, a Canterlot unicorn, thought she would sign me up for cello lessons..." she said, glancing over her shoulder. She seemed to be looking for somepony.
"... And?" Scootaloo replied.
"Well, one day, I performed in front of my class and... it appeared." Octavia finished. "That's all..."
"OCTY! Bucking finally!"
"Miss Vinyl Scratch!" Scootaloo beamed.
"Whoa, whoa, kid." Vinyl Scratch chuckled. "It's just Vinyl. Or DJ. Whatever you prefer."
This was perfect! A double whammy! Two important ponies in one stop!
"Miss Vinyl, er... DJ... Can you tell me how you got your cutie mark?"
"... What, this 'ole thing?" Vinyl smirked, glancing back at the mark on her flank. "I got this when I was about your age. I was at a huge party, man, was it nuts and..."
"Vinyl, darling, I can tell you're lying..." Octavia sighed.
"No, no, really, I'm not! I swear, see, the real DJ, like, passed out from one too many drinks and they were all totally looking for a new DJ, so guess who was picked?"
"Vinyl, that's not true."
"Tavi, you're just jealous my story is cooler than yours."
Scootaloo frowned. "Is it true, Vinyl?"
"... Course it is!" Vinyl Scratch said, before slightly hesitating.
Octavia rolled her eyes.
"She actually got her cutie mark when she left school and got a part time job with... wubs."
"... That's not as cool." Vinyl pouted.
Octavia sighed. "Don't drop out of school, darling. Vinyl here just got lucky she even received her cutie mark. If it wasn't for that horrid thing she calls music, she would still be a blank flank."
"Heeeeeeey!" Vinyl shrieked. "Octy! That's not cool!"
"It's not about being cool, Vinyl dear. It's about being true."
"Yeah, well, sometimes being true sucks."
"... So...?" Scootaloo bit her lip. "Thanks!"
"Anytime, dear." Octavia sighed as she kept listening to the protests of her marefriend, claiming that 'being cool was her thing'.
Scootaloo then drove/flew off on her scooter; scanning the town of Ponyville once again...
It wasn't until she was nearly to the edge of the town that she remembered Rainbow Dash. The coolest pony in Ponyville.
Her story wasn't sappy. Or stupid. Or uncool. Or boring.
It was everything the opposite.
She spun her scooter around in midair and shot towards the tree that Rainbow Dash usually took a nap in. Why she chose to take naps in trees instead of in her cloud house, Scootaloo didn't know, but it sure made finding her idol a lot easier.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed, only for her wings to fail on her and she fell to the ground. "... Ow..."
"Hey, kid." Rainbow smiled, flying down to the ground. "You alright?"
Scootaloo jumped up.
"I'm fine! Hey, do you think you could tell me that story to how you got your cutie mark again?"
"Oh, that old thing? I've told you maybe a thousand times!"
"But it's such a great story!"
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Scoot, I just wanna ask you one thing."
Scootaloo smiled wide. "Anything for you, Rainbow Dash!"
"Alright... Can you tell me why you're so hyped up on getting a cutie mark? You can't force it, you know."
Scootaloo opened her mouth to respond, but she shut it instantly. She thought for a moment before confessing.
"I just... my friends don't like me anymore because they have cutie marks and I don't."
"Aw, come on." Rainbow Dash ruffled the young Pegasus's mane. "A lot of ponies don't get their cutie marks for a while..."
"Yeah, right." Scootaloo sighed. "Besides, it has been a while!"
"You'll get yours one day," Rainbow Dash said. "And you'll have the coolest cutie mark in your class."
"... You think?"
"Kid..." Rainbow Dash chuckled. "I know it... Besides," she added. "You're just like me, and if I know me, your cutie mark has to be awesome."
Scootaloo grinned. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash!"
She gave the cyan pegasus a hug before scootering off and then... a thought came to her...
I've never really flown before... Just this... And Rainbow got her cutie mark by flying for the first time... Flying in a really, really cool way too! Maybe I should try that!
Just as she thought about it, her scooter shot into the air. Looking down, she saw that she had scootered up a ramp that some colts in her class were setting up. Looking up, she saw that she was about to hit a branch.
"Oh, sh..." Scootaloo hit the branch face-first and then fell to the ground, her scooter rolling off and there she was. Lying on the ground. In pain.
The colts behind her started to laugh hysterically before a familiar voice was heard.
"Yeah, I'd like to see you wimps try that! Go on! Scram!"
The running of hooves were heard before, through her blurred vision, Scootaloo saw a rainbow of colors over her.
"Kid, you OK?"
Biting her lip, Scootaloo squinted her eyes shut and shook her head. She thought for sure she would've finally done it. She thought she would flown successfully for once...
"Come on, Kid, get up. I'll take you to Twilight's place and she can fix you up."
"No." Scootaloo whimpered, not opening her eyes. "I don't wanna."
"Kid..." Rainbow Dash murmured. "Come on..."
"No."
"Scoot..."
"No."
"Scootaloo, please?" Rainbow pleaded. "You can try later and..."
"No!" Scootaloo shrieked, bursting into tears. "Don't you get it, Rainbow Dash? I'm never gonna get my cutie mark! I'm nothing but... but... but a blank flank!"
"... Kid, er... Scootaloo... Listen..."
Scootaloo didn't. She just kept crying.
"Scootaloo, come on!" Rainbow Dash was aware that, to any passing ponies, it would look like Rainbow Dash had hurt Scootaloo. "Everypony is staring!"
"I don't care!" Scootaloo sobbed. "They all stare anyway. I'm the only blank flank in Ponyville!"
"Scram! All of you!" Rainbow shrieked. "I didn't do anything!"
Looking down at the whimpering, helpless filly before her, the cyan pegasus bent down to Scootaloo...
"Scoot, listen to me..."
"No..." Scootaloo growled. "I don't wanna."
"Scootaloo, come on." Rainbow Dash pleaded.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because..." Scootaloo sniffed. "I'm never gonna be any good at anything."
"Aw, that ain't true! Look at me! I was 'Rainbow Crash' for the longest time, and now I'm the only pony that can do a Sonic Rainboom!"
"Yeah, so? At least you got your cutie mark..."
"And you'll get yours..."
Scootaloo pouted. "I'm tired of waiting, though."
"Everypony has to wait until they find their special talent. Sometimes, looking for it won't help. Who knows? It might be something unexpected."
"Like what?" Scootaloo pouted.
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak; only to let out a chuckle instead. "Who's the blank flank now?"
Scootaloo blinked slowly and looked back; seeing a sight that nearly made her faint... There it was... Her cutie mark... A scooter, with wings...
"My cutie mark!" she nearly shouted.
"You see, kid?" Rainbow Dash smiled, just as Scootaloo jumped up and hugged her. "It was only a matter of time..."
"I've got to show Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo shrieked with joy as she ran off.
Rainbow Dash laughed; deep down knowing that...
I was just like you, Scoot...
Author's Note
Yay for the cheesy, heartwarming endings /)^3^(\
