The True Origin of the Cutie Mark Crusaders

by Cold Spike

Rating: everyone
Tags: Cutie Mark Crusaders, Slice of Life, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 8150

A Young Filly from the distant future travels back in time to meet her idols. The Cutie Mark Crusaders

Blaze Wings a Young Orphaned Filly travels back in time to meet her idols, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She ends up getting far more than she bargained for. A One Shot Story

Editor: skultech
Art By: http://tamalesyatole.deviantart.com/art/Star-Swirl-the-Bearded-Wing-Background-311806121

Published 2012-12-12 03:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-29 08:07:35 UTC

The Only Chapter

Permanent time travel spells have not been invented yet, in the future they have been invented already. The magic surrounding them are vague and misunderstood at best. The day the spell was invented it was outlawed by Princess Celestia. She claimed that messing with the past was a violation of the rules of nature. But, that still left the question, was time bound by fate? If you were to prevent your own birth in the past would that cause a paradox? Or would a coincidence get in the way of anyone trying to change the past? Princess Celestia never wanted to find out, hence the ban. Word did not spread quickly on the spell and as a result only a select few knew of it. However, time has a way of slipping through the cracks and fate, as it were, was bound to happen...to a certain degree.

Ponyville Orphanage - 50 Years After the return of Princess Luna

"It was at that time, dear, that we decided to expand the Cutie Mark Crusaders into an Equestrian wide organization. You see we had already earned our cutie marks, but we wanted to help other foals do just the same," a low voice exclaimed while looking down at a young pegasus filly.

"Oh! And then what happened, miss Sweetie Belle?" The young filly asked jumping out of her seat.

"Blaze Wings, you know exactly what happened you silly filly! Our club soared! Before we knew it we were famous! All over Equestria chapters of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were popping up left and right. Millions of foals that hadn't quite learned what made them special were joining and it was up to us to lead the way. Oh those were happy days. And to think it all started from a silly little party!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed while blushing.

"You mean the cute-ceañera thingy or whatever it was called?"

"Yes, that sounds about right, anyway it was there that I met Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. That was one of the best days of my life." The mare smirked, imagining that day, though, memories were quite hazy at best.

"Wasn't becoming famous the best day of your life?"

"No, Blaze, the day you make a new friend who sticks with you for the rest of your life, well, I guarantee you that it will be the best day of your young life," she exclaimed while smiling proudly.

"But, I don't have any friends just you three!" She coughed once. And that totally not creepy stallion guy I know.

"Now now, you will get some eventually, I promise. But how have you been in regards to earning your cutie mark dear?" The mare cocked her head to the side looking down in curiosity.

Blaze frowned at this and looked down at her flank, it was bare. She sighed and refused to answer.

Sweetie Belle smiled and nodded. "Well, I promise you that in time you will find out what makes you special."

"I guess. So, are you coming back next week?"

Sweetie Belle sighed and spoke up quickly, "I'm sorry, Blaze Wings, but this will be our last meeting at the orphanage together. Me and Apple Bloom are going into retirement together, we will be moving away. Scootaloo said she may join us in time, but oh well."

Blaze shot out of her seat, and scrambled to make the mare stop."WHAT?! BUT YOU CAN'T GO! HOW AM I GONNA GET MY CUTIE MARK?! AND THE OTHERS WILL MAKE FUN-" She was silenced by Sweetie Belle grabbing her with some magic and lifting her into a hug.

"Listen to me, Blaze Wings. You are a wonderfull, creative little filly. And I know you were meant to do great things and make great friends. I know that saying goodbye is never easy, but just try to remember everything we have taught you and you'll be fine," she said while giving her one last smile and with a slow trot outside of the orphanage she was gone.

"Goodbye..."

With a huff of frustration Blaze Wings chose to return to her room, the orphanage was big and each child got their own. It was getting late for the young crusader, but she wasn't tired, she was anxious.

How can they just leave me? It isn’t fair! I don't want new friends, I want them as friends. But they are really gone...

With nothing else to do she decided it was time to make a visit to another older friend, a unicorn pony. She opened her window and looked around, the dim streets of Ponyville were now painted in darkness. Thanking Celestia that she was on the first story of the large building, she buzzed her wings to life and gently landed on the ground after a quick jump. Looking around to make sure the coast was clear she set off for the path of a bar; one where a suspicious unicorn hangs out at after dark.

Shifty Sparks, as he was named, is a unicorn pony that helps others with certain services. He helps those of all ages, but his primary target audience was, oddly enough, orphans. Whenever an orphan child needed something as simple as a hard to get book or something as illegal as booze to feel better, he was there. Blaze Wings often talked to him as a friend, though, usually only asked for books on occasion when she saved up enough bits. With only basic schooling in the orphanage it was up to the kids themselves to choose how far they wished to succeed in life. Blaze Wings was an avid reader and so Shifty Sparks became one of her best friends, often getting her some of the most hard to get books in Equestria.

A couple blocks later and Blaze was near the bar, it was sort of a dark secret for Ponyville. The small town had long since grown into a much larger and busier place, but drinking was still frowned upon. She spotted her 'friend' and instantly ran up to him.

"Hey kid, how ya been?" The hooded unicorn asked, he always wore a hood to conceal his identity. When Blaze Wings asked why, he simply told her 'because I know things' which was too vague for her tastes but they had bonded in the past enough to earn his trust.

"Not good Shifty, I just found out that the original CMC are retiring! It isn’t fair!" She whined with a pout.

"Well that sucks kid, but what do you want me to do about it? I can get you books for knowledge or booze to feel better but I can't turn back time," he said while laughing.

"I know, but it just makes me so mad! I mean what have I got to live for now? I'm a dang blank flank orphan who can't even fly! I keep reading and reading to try and see if there is anything I can do to get my cutie mark, but it's hopeless. I mean I love to read, but gah this sucks!"

"Nothing is hopeless kid, it only is if you let it. But now tell me, what do you need from me that will make ya happy?"

Blaze Wings paused for a moment to think on that. What would make her happy? Getting to see her friends again!

"I want to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders again, they make me happy! They are my friends. And I'm not gonna be happy again until that happens, so please you gotta have something that will help?" She gave him her best puppy dog eyes and waited. Honestly she had no clue what he could possibly have that could help, but it's not like her friends were dead they were just away. Even if they were super old they were still her best friends.

Shifty Sparks just stared at those eyes for the longest time. His expression went from happy to stoic in under a second. In truth he did have one way to help the filly but it was risking a lot. And in the end was that risk worth her happiness over safety? Those pleading almost crying eyes gave him the answer, yes. With a heavy sigh he regained his composure and smiled.

"Alright kid, I know I usually ask for payment and you probably just see me as some sleaze ball that only does favors for money right?"

"RIGHT!" Her smile and instant answer annoyed him but he continued.

"But truth be told, I do enjoy seeing others happy. And I have one way for you to see your friends again, but not in the way you might think," he said giving her a creepy smile.

"Well, what do you mean?"

"Hmm, tell me kid. Have you ever wished to travel back in time? Maybe fix a mistake that you made in the past?"

"Honestly, no. I've never made that many mistakes before, I'm only seven."

"Good point kid, but I have and I know plenty of adults have. As time goes on we all make mistakes, sometimes big ones that we wish we could take back. Time travel even though impossible would fix all of it, you know what I mean?"

"Um, yeah, but how does that let me see my friends again?"

"Well, let me paint a picture for you. The original Cutie Mark Crusaders are what? Sixty years old, maybe older? Wouldn't it be better if you could see them at your age? If you could become friends with them when they were just fillies?"

"That would be awesome! But that's impossible, like you said time travel is impossible."

He chuckled to himself for a while before giving her a sheepish smile at her mean looking stare. "The correct word in this case is 'was'. It was impossible but a few years back a group of unicorn ponies learned how to travel back in time and unlike the Star Swirl spell it would keep you there permanently. Trouble is, the spell was a one way trip and Celestia banned it from practice. If even a single unicorn uses the spell, she will know and will stop ya before you can even blink or finish the process. Remember when we first met? And you asked me why I hide myself, because I know things? Well a few years back I tracked down that spell and I will know it to this day but I haven't used it. It wasn't until recently that I figured out how to block Celestia's tracking spell."

"Well, why haven't you used it then? And even if you could send me back to when they were fillies, wouldn't that like mess with time? If I did something stupid I could blink out of existence or cause a paradox!" He gave her a blank stare and she smiled back sheepishly. "WHAT? I like to read a lot okay?"

"Well miss reader, I have my reasons for not using the spell yet. As for changing the past, I don't think that is even possible. I don't know everything about the spell but I do know this: if you get sent back, you are either meant to go back for a reason or you make another universe thus making it impossible to change history because it hasn't happened yet."

"So let me get this straight...You want to send me back into the past to when the original CMC were just fillies like me? And you say that this is not only safe but it might actually make a new universe? Like WHAT?!"

"Try not to think about it in terms of a new universe, sort of like a new dimension. One where Equestria still exists as it is but the time line has not happened yet up to this point, meaning you can't change history. You might have knowledge of the future when you get sent back but none of that will matter. Because your very presence in this new dimension changes the flow of time entirely thus making new events unfold, but the spell is safe a paradox cannot exist. You will be free to go see Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and make friends with them. Hell you could even help them form the club if I send you back far enough, so what do you say?"

"NO! That just sounds too freaky, besides where in the hay am I supposed to live? Last I checked the orphanage is pretty new to Ponyville and did not exist back then. Even if I do go back there and make three new friends, I doubt I will get to stay. The moment one of their parents finds out that I'm an orphan they will haul me away to a far off orphanage or something. I'm not stupid!"

"Kid, honestly ask yourself something. WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE? You said it yourself, you are a flightless pegasus pony. And no offense a blank flank, and I know you have potential thanks to that fact. BUT! Adults usually adopt fillies and colts when they are no older than three. You said you are seven years old and that means you either have to stay at that orphanage until you are sixteen and get kicked out or you take me up on my plan. So I will ask you this again, what have you got to lose?"

Blaze Wings just sat there for the longest time giving him a blank stare, it was starting to unnerve him. Everything he just said had some truth to it, she quite literally had nothing to lose. And the prospect of making friends with them as fillies sounded amazing. But using this spell just to make a new dimension as he put it sounded like too much. It sounded like something that she should never try but then why was she seriously considering it? She already knew the answer though, because she was lonely and it sounded like a fresh start.

"This is crazy even for you but I see your point. I have nothing to lose so I agree but where am I going to live when I get there?"

"You’re a smart kid, I'm sure you can figure something out. As for getting thrown into a distant orphanage, just be careful for a while. I'm sure in time one of your new friend’s siblings will be willing to take ya in, you're too charming for that not to happen." They shared a giggle and then he switched back to a serious tone.

"Now remember, do not and I repeat do not tell anypony that you are from the future. I said a paradox is impossible but I never said being deemed insane wasn't. You won't be able to prove you are from the future because like I said once you pop up the time line will change, how drastically? That I'm not sure of. But it should change enough so that future events that you know of will never happen or will change."

"But won't that mean that the Cutie Mark Crusaders never becomes famous or something? I don't want that!"

"Hey relax kid, for one you will not be screwing up this time line, which is impossible like I said. Yeah something like that might happen due to your presence there but that doesn't mean your friends won't be happy, who knows maybe you becoming friends will be the best thing that could happen to them. Now I have the spell ready in my memory, you sure you want to do this?"

"Wait, don't you want payment? You always want payment!"

"Not this time, I know it sounds shifty, but for this one time I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart."

"You don't have a heart," she said coldly. For a few seconds time stood still until they both burst out into fits of giggling.

"Anyway just trust me kid this is a gift, don't waste it. I will be sending you fifty years into the past, and remember just keep your mouth shut on when you came from, you will be doing yourself a favor. Now are you ready?"

"Can I take anything with me?"

"Sorry, the spell does not work that way. Organic material only, meaning just you."

"But how am I supposed to pay for anything? I'm gonna need food!"

"Like I said before, you are a smart kid. Now let's get the spell ready and whisk you away."

She sighed and waited, he was muttering to himself and appeared to be memorizing something.

"Okay, ready squirt?"

"Ready," she said in a nervous tone.

"Goodbye Blaze Wings, it has been a pleasure."

His horn flared to life which slowly enveloped her small body in a glowing red substance. Her body went from standing to flying in the air to her surprise. Her body started to go numb for a few seconds until a new feeling showed up. It felt like hundreds of tiny pins and needles were being slowly pressed into her skin but it wasn't painful it was just weird. In under a minute she disappeared in a flash leaving behind a tiny red portal that remained oddly enough open.

"Did you send her?" A dark voice asked.

"Yes, she should now be in Ponyville, just after Princess Luna has returned. You better hurry..." He trailed of when he noticed the portal had closed and the voice was gone.

"Creepy Mare."

Ponyville - Just after Princess Luna's Return

Blaze Wings was now lying face first in a pile of dirt unconscious. It was the dead of night with no other ponies around, the bar that she was previously next to was now gone leaving just a big empty field. Slowly the young filly started to wake, to the biggest headache of her young life.

"What the hay happ-" She stopped trying to get on her hoofs when she noticed what was once a vibrant busy street with buildings as far as the eye could see was now one large empty field.

Rubbing her head she slowly stood up and looked around. Everything was gone, it was as if they never existed, or to her did not exist yet.

"That must mean that it worked! Oh, but now it's dark out and no more orphanage to sleep in. What in the hay am I supposed to do now?!" She started to panic as she paced back and forth.

"Ok, just calm down here. I can figure this out. First thing I need to do is find the center of town, if I remember right there should still be some familiar buildings. Then I find shelter and food!" And with that she stood up and started walking away from the field in the direction of the would-be orphanage.

It took Blaze Wings 20 minutes but she was eventually standing in front of the Ponyville Library in the middle of the town in the dead of night.

"I can't believe this! Inside that library, Twilight Sparkle the 'Element of Magic' is just sleeping away. THIS IS SO AWESOME!" She screamed with giddy, nopony noticed.

"Ok focus Blaze, you need shelter. But I hardly recognize any of these buildings!" She looked around and sighed, around her she only recognized three main buildings. The library, the Boutique and Sugarcube Corner. She knew that one of her goals, Sweetie Belle mostly lived in that Boutique but being the dead of night she decided against making friends just yet.

"Ok think, think! Where can I go that is out of the cold and out of other ponies’ way? Somewhere I can sleep at night and hide at?" She knew it was important to at least remain semi hidden. If others discovered she had no parents it was off to an orphanage in who knows where.

"THE CLUB HOUSE!" In an instant she began galloping in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. If it was one thing she did know about the past, it was that club house had always been there even in her time.

It took her another 20 minutes just to reach the edge of town, but there off in the distance was the famous apple orchard. It was far smaller than she remembered it when their orphanage once visited during a field trip. But it was there none the less. Looking up she saw some faint lights in the main house but not much activity, with a large gulp she slowly walked towards the trees hoping to go over looked. With some luck she reached the end of the trees and it veered off into a dark winding path, that part she recognized she had even seen it in her dreams since she visited it so often.

"THERE IT IS!" She ran as fast as her legs would allow as her small wings buzzed to life but to her horror of the site before her she stopped.

"WHAT IN THE HAY HAPPENED?!" Before her the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse was up in one of the biggest apple trees of the whole orchard, but it was a mess. The state of the CMC HQ put her in a mild shock, before she shook it off.

"Ok, calm down Blaze. I did time travel after all, maybe I wen't back too far? I remember Apple Bloom telling me..." It was then that a flash back hit her like a ton of bricks. "Of course! This means that the club is not even formed yet, that the original members aren't even friends yet! If the CMC aren't formed yet then they have no reason to fix this place up yet... but that also means I need to be careful and wait for that party to happen. If I screw this up too soon and show myself to those three before they form the club then it might not even happen!" She went into another panicked state and started pacing back and forth again until a loud yawn interrupted it.

"Ehh, I'll worry about that tomorrow, for now sleep!" With that she ascended the beat up ladder and walked inside to the sickening darkness. With no blankets or pillows she yawned one more time and laid down in the middle, using her fluffy tail as a makeshift overlay and in under a minute she was out like a light.

THE NEXT DAY

Blaze Wings woke up early in the morning to the sound of trees being bucked. The sun was shining far too brightly for her own liking and the hunger from her stomach was not doing much to make her feel any better. Shrugging it off she decided it was best to get up early and sneak off the orchard with some 'borrowed' apples from the hidden tree. Looking around she did not see the telltale sign of the 'Element of Honesty' or her younger sister bucking which means she wasn't working in this part of the orchard today. She opened up the broken door and looked up, there were dozens upon dozens of apples growing on the CMC HQ tree.

"Well, I guess I better get used to stealing for a while. Could be worse." Truthfully, to her it didn't feel like it could get any worse, she had hit rock bottom but it was her choice to do so. She was only slightly better off in the orphanage with lukewarm meals of questionable quality. Stealing was the last thing on her list but for now it was unavoidable.

She grabbed three apples from the tree, the only ones she could reach. Blaze made a mental note to find a ladder later on. After eating and tossing away the apples she felt better but now she had a few problems to attend to.

"Ok, I got plenty of food in the form of apples so no big problems there. I need a place to bathe though, and I need an easy way to sneak out of here without being seen and finally I need something to do." She agreed in the dead of night just before she slept that contact with the original CMC or any of their guardians for that matter was a bad horrible idea until they formed the club.

Reluctantly she decided to run into the orchard, which proved to be a terrible idea. But thanks to Applejack's ability to work and work without rest, Blaze Wings went unnoticed. With a huff she hurried off in the direction of the lake, she knew of its existence and it would be the perfect spot to wash off and think in silence. She found the lake and as luck would have it, the entire place was secluded.

She jumped into the lake with a loud scream from the cold but instantly shrugged it off. She swam around getting all the sweat and stench off of her and then did her best to dry off dog style by shaking her whole body. She was now cold while she waited for the water to fully dry off but she wasn't uncomfortable, so she sat down and she waited.

"Ok, I can't be their friend until that dumb party. After that it's on. But what do I do until then? I can't just hide in the shadows for weeks.... or maybe I can?" She knew that eventually somepony was going to find her and it wouldn't hurt things if the CMC spotted her every once in a while, as long as they never spoke to each other. So would it hurt to stalk them? She decided no and it would give her something to do.

"Well, maybe I can go find Sweetie Belle and see what she's up to, she was the one that always talked to me more." Blaze Wings stood up and ran off into the direction of Ponyville. The boutique was her destination but she decided to slow down when she noticed other ponies staring.

There it was, Carousel Boutique. She walked up to the building and peaked inside the window, there working on a dress was the 'Element of Generosity' in all her glory. But no little sister. Blaze sighed and continued on her way.

"How am I even gonna find her? Wait SCHOOL! Wait! I have no idea what day it is!" Shifty failed to mention what day it would be when she arrived after asking a random adult while blushing she found it that it was in fact Saturday which means no school and no leads. With nothing else to do she decided to head off to the park, figuring a filly her own age would be playing.

It was there that Blaze spotted her, Sweetie Belle was just playing away with some random foals without a care in the world. It looked weird to watch her, and see her idol looking so young and without a cutie mark no less! They were masters of cutie marks, they knew what each and every symbol meant even the rare ones. But here she was, blank as the day they were born.

"Do you want to play with us?" Blaze was thrown out of her train of thought to the one voice she was hoping not to hear. Standing to her side was Sweetie Belle just smiling away. Inside her own head she was panicking. But then an idea struck her, one that would get her away from this mess, for now.

"No, thank you," Blaze said and ran off quicker than she meant to. Sweetie Belle looked a little sad but shrugged it off and went back to playing with her friends.

"That was too close!" Blaze was now hiding behind a rather large tree, just hanging back while she heard all the children play in the field. To Blaze, Sweetie Belle seemed quite oblivious and innocent if you will, meaning that stalking her should be no problem. Several hours of meditating to herself later she noticed most of the kids were heading home, Sweetie Belle was no exception.

Sticking to what shadows she had left, she followed the white colored unicorn as closely as she could. Slowly it became apparent that she was heading for her sister's house and not her parent's. She remembered being told that as a filly she would often be foalsat by her elder sister so it made sense.

She peaked inside the window again and saw the smaller unicorn talking to her elder sister. At first everything seemed fine until Sweetie Belle said something with a sheepish smile and then all hell broke loose. In an instant Rarity went from happy and pretending to listen to her sister to angry with a fire turned mane, it was quite literally on fire to Blaze's astonishment. She heard Rarity scream something at her sister and point to the stairs, Sweetie Belle immediately started crying and stormed off.

"WHAT IN THE HAY JUST HAPPENED?" Blaze looked around to make sure that what she just saw was real, but then she reazlied that she was hiding in a bush and sighed. Why would Rarity make her sister cry? It made no-

"Often, when I was really young me and my sister would have difficulties getting along. Eventually though we patched things up and it all ended up well in the end." She remembered Sweetie Belle telling her this very thing and now she knows what that meant.

With a heavy sigh she left the building, wishing to Celestia that she could reveal herself now and comfort her soon to be friend but decided against it. It was not dark out yet so she decided to risk going to the library, remembering that none of the CMC were related to Twilight, Blaze came to the conclusion that interacting with her was mostly neutral for now. Thankfully it was close by.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

A light violet glow enveloped the door and opened without warning, slowly she walked in when the door closed. There was no pony to greet her but she did notice one dragon that she very familiar looking.

Holy hell he is small! Spike, you are gonna get big, you watch out for that! She thought to herself giggling in her own head.

The dragon noticed the new guest and walked down from the ladder to greet her.

"Welcome to Ponyville library, is there any book I can help you find?"

"Yeah, do you have any good fiction books? Like science fiction?" Spike noticed her calm demeanor when dealing with him. He was used to the constant gaping stares of newer ponies and in truth it took him off guard that this little pegasus filly just shrugged him off like a dragon was an everyday thing.

"Um, sure! Just give me a second we just got a really good book in," Spike said while returning to the book case to locate one.

To her disappointment he picked out a book that she had read a million times before, in the future that is. "Um, actually I already read this one," she said but then mentally face hoofed herself when she realized her mistake.

"Already?! This book just came out yesterday, geeze you read fast!"

"Oh, um, yeah I like to read a lot. Do you maybe have something else?" Blaze asked while blushing.

Spike showed her a few older titles and she picked one that she had never even seen before. The public section was open for a few more hours so she sat there and started to read. As suspected no little colts or fillies came that night, libraries were like that even in the future. The book was pretty good and pretty soon she was lost in her own little world. It was then that she realized that Spike was not alone, upstairs the 'Element of Magic' was working away. She stole a few glances of the most beloved unicorn in all of Equestria before returning to her book.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to disturb you but it is closing time little filly." Blaze looked up and to her amazement, Twilight Sparkle was now giving her a reassuring smile. She was nearly too shocked to speak but then she realized something.

I gotta stop thinking in future terms, here almost nopony knows her yet. So I need to act like it.

"Oh, right sorry. This book is just really good!"

"I know how that feels, I'm just glad a young filly is interested in reading for once," Twilight said while Blaze returned the book.

"Um, can I check out the book for now?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Sweetie but due to the age of the book it has to remain in the library, but you are very welcome to come back any day of the week and read it, ok?"

"Awww, well thanks anyway Twilgh-" Blaze placed a hoof up to her face to stop herself but turning around she noticed that the damage was done.

"I guess, um, my reputation has preceded me," Twilight said while smiling down at her, Blaze noticed that she did look nervous with this new filly in her presence.

"Yeah, thanks for freeing Princess Luna, it was awesome! But I have to go and get home before, um, my parents get mad. So bye!" She ran out of the library as quickly as possible without skipping a beat.

"Again, too close! Why is time travel so tricky?!" With a heavy sigh she walked off to the direction of Sweet Apple Acres so she could get some rest.

She was half way through the orchard when off in the distance she noticed something that seemed out of place. There were endless fences that lined around the orchard but Blaze noticed something draped on top of one. Walking up she found a blanket, a clean one no less just lying there as if sewn cloth was naturally occurring. With a shrug she picked it up and walked back to the club house.

"Well, I'm not above stealing. And it was freezing last night."

She came back to the club house and with a loud yawn she inched into the middle. Wrapping the blanket around herself, she slowly drifted off into sleep.

One Night Later

Blaze woke up, slightly more comfortable than the previous night. She followed the same routine from sneaking past the cow pony to taking a bath in the lake and borrowing a few apples. With quite literally no other plans she began to lay out her position, it was...bland.

"Okay, I found Sweetie Belle and she was easy enough to follow. She seems...happy enough," she said while grimly remembering her little fight with Rarity.

"I will see Scoot at the party but that just leaves Apple Bloom. I can't tail her easily since she spends most of her free time on the orchard. It's just too risky. So what in the hay am I supposed to do?" She sighed, feeling very frustrated. In truth she was formulating ideas and little plans but she had to factor in certain issues, namely the whole reason she went back in time. Meeting Applejack and Rarity was for now out of the question, but that didn’t mean that the other 'Elements of Harmony' were necessarily bad. Except for Pinkie.

"Knowing what I heard about her, she will throw a party for me like that and invite everyone, which means I will meet the Cutie Mark Crusaders early and screw everything up! That just leaves, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle who I already met, and Fluttershy. The choice is obvious, Fluttershy!" Blaze always liked animals and hearing about the legendary skills of the cream colored pegasus just made it sound too good to be true.

She set off in the direction of the cottage, in her time it was a full blown animal sanctuary so she prepared herself for the worst in its time travel alteration. In truth she only wanted to spend a little time with Fluttershy and then move onto something else, preferably tailing Sweetie Belle again. She reached the edge of the forest and to her amazement the cottage was standing and looked more beautiful than ever. But where was the 'Element of Kindness'?

Seeing nopony else around she decided to slowly make her way towards the door but she stopped when she noticed all the birds singing around her.

Well duh this is Fluttershy's Cottage.

Deciding not to disturb most of the birds she choose to inch her way closer to a single blue bird that was singing away, every step made the bird flinch then go back to singing until she was standing right next to it. Without thinking she began to whistle in order to copy the bird, it seemed to work as the lonely bird became louder to copy her back. For a couple minutes they were like this just singing and whistling away, until Blaze noticed a rather large shadow creeping up behind them. Turning around she noticed that it was none other than Fluttershy, she was not surprised but said nothing.

"Oh, that was quite beautiful little filly, please don't stop." Blaze was dumb struck, but when a representation of the 'Elements of Harmony' gives you an order ( or something close to it ) you listen! So she began to whistle for the next few minutes until the bird grew bored and flew off.

"Well, that was peaceful. I'm Fluttershy by the way," she said while raising up her hoof to shake.

"I'm Blaze Wings," she said returning the shake. There was an awkward silence for a while until the smallest of the two spoke up.

"So, um, did you really free Princess Luna?" That question caught both of them off guard. First off Blaze knew exactly who she was and exactly what she had done and in fact in the future they had met before on a field trip. She was of course nice. Fluttershy had not expected to be asked this and in truth the news had only just got out about the new princess. Rumors were numerous with almost none involving the 'Elements of Harmony' and their respective bearers. So when this random little filly asked her that question, she was at a loss for words.

"Um, yes, me and my new friends defeated Nightmare Moon and returned her to our princess. But how did you know about that Blaze?"

Crud! C'mon think of something. THINK!

"Oh, I was, um, there when Nightmare Moon showed up in the middle of town. I watched you and those other mares run off into the forest and when you all came back I just assumed you did, and I was right!"

"Oh dear, you must have been so scared!" The panic in her voice was genuine and it made her forget all about why Blaze was even at her cottage in the first place.

"Well, kind of, I found some friends nearby and that helped. It wasn't that bad."

"Well I'm glad you could be brave Blaze. Now, was there a reason you stopped by?" Fluttershy was giving her a reassuring smile and trying not to be rude.

"Hmm, I just wanted to meet a hero. Plus I got nothing better to do."

"Hmm, well if it is okay with your parents maybe you can help me feed my animals today?"

An enthusiastic nod was all she got in return. They spend half the day just feeding all the animals that the pegasus pony took responsibility for. It was a very eventful day and in truth Blaze wished every day could be like that, but all good things must come to an end. By the time all the animals were fed, night was looming.

"Well Blaze, I can honestly say you are one of the most wonderful little fillies I have ever met. Please come back anytime!"

"Sure, I think I'll take you up on that offer," she replied while smiling sheepishly.

"But it's getting late, you best get home before your parents start to worry."

"Right, goodbye Fluttershy!" They both waved and Blaze sped off in the direction of the town, she did not feel the least bit tired.

She made her way towards the library again, with no other plans and no ways to track her idols. She entered the library thinking that it was fine, considering it was a public one and called up for Twilight.

"Ahh, you’re back. You know I never got your name?"

"I'm Blaze Wings. I was wondering if you had-" She was interrupted by the book she was seeking magically being placed in front of her.

"Nice to meet you Blaze, you may read it in the common area, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask," Twilight said and walked back upstairs.

She spent the next few hours reading though the book. It was insanely long and by closing time she was only half way through and had to give it up to her disappointment. Before she left, Blaze noticed Twilight was staring at her in an odd manner. It was almost as if Twilight knew something was off about Blaze but she was forced to restrain herself and remain cool and calm. Blaze shrugged and made her way back to Sweet Apple Acres.

She now had one week for the party to happen and she was both dreading it and excited at the same time.

"What if I screw up their meeting and the Cutie Mark Crusaders never happens?! Or worse yet what if they think I'm weird and I never get to be their friend?! What if-" She smacked herself with her own hoof to stop the loop.

"This will be easy, I will just show up and watch the party from a distance, once I see that they all have formed the club then I run in for the kill..." She faced hoofed at how menacing she just sounded but shrugged it off.

The following week was spent lounging around Ponyville doing nothing useful or anything in particular. She visited Fluttershy one more time but felt it was best to keep visits to a minimum, after all if she discovered she was an orphan then her plan was ruined. The following Saturday was the day, the Cute-Ceañera was in full swing and she decided to show up early but stay outside. There was a window at Sugarcube Corner that let her witness everything in full detail. But something was bothering her.

"Where in the hay are they?!" She looked around and so far only Apple Bloom had showed up, acting just as her future self told her she would, hiding. But no Sweetie Belle and certainly no Scootaloo. It was worrying her.

After a while she finally noticed Sweetie Belle show up but what she did was unexpected. In under ten seconds flat she looked around and then dashed under a table trying to hide from the crowd. She had heard this story a million times but not like this.

"And there is still no Scootaloo, what the hay!" She looked all over frantically trying to find any sign of the orange colored pegasus filly but she was missing. She knew this meant that they could not meet up and form the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it was all over! She sighed and looked at her reflection in the window, but what she saw caused her to gasp.

"What did you look like as a filly, Scootaloo?" Blaze asked the elder pony who was busy recounting stories of her past to anypony nice enough to listen.

"Oh, I think I have a picture of that somewhere, hold on sweetie. AH! Here we are, oh I can't quite remember when this one was taken but there I was, just a filly." Scootaloo placed the picture in Blaze's lap and she studied it all over.

"I'm....I'm...SCOOTALOO?!" The tiny pegasus filly was having a mini heart attack. There in her reflection was the same pony from the picture, it was quite literally freaking her out. She also felt stupid for not realizing it before but it now all made sense, she was Scootaloo.

"Then that means..." She had a million flashbacks all at once, recounting stories of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their origins. She had very little time to act or it was all over. Without thinking she dashed into the party and hid underneath the same table as Sweetie Belle and waited. The unicorn pony noticed her but said nothing. Blaze had no clue what she was supposed to do, in her panic she was starting to forget what the elder CMC had told her, she was winging it quite literally.

Off in the distance they both saw it, Diamond Tiara laughing at Apple Bloom making her feel horrible inside. Inside something clicked and Blaze had to intervene, this was it.

"HEY! YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH BLANK FLANKS?!"

"What was that?"

"I said, you got a problem with blank flanks?" Both Sweetie Belle and Blaze revealed themselves from under the table both with angry looks on their faces.

"The problem is, she's like totally not special!"

"NO! It means she's full of potential!" Sweetie Belle said while walking over to Apple Bloom's side.

"It means she could be great at anything! The possibilities are like endless," Scootaloo said while mocking Diamond Tiara's tone.

The conversation just flowed out of both of them as if it was rehearsed a million times and yet it flowed so naturally and it felt right. Both fillies were backing her up and talking down to the main party guest.

"HEY! This is my party, why are you two on her side?"

"Cause," they both paused and showed off their blank flanks to the entire crowd with Apple Bloom finishing their sentence," you don't have any cutie marks either? I thought I was the only one!"

"Well, we thought we were the only two!" Blaze said, Sweetie Belle just smiled.

Twilight and Applejack showed off their support and what followed next was every colt and filly crowding around the three new blank flanked fillies for their support. Blaze looked over and without thinking spoke up.

"Name's Scootaloo!" She was feeling nervous deep down but, apparently it was the truth even if it was also a lie.

"And I'm Sweetie Belle!"

"Apple Bloom!"

They talked for a while until the party began to wind down.

"So, now that we’re friends, I was thinking that we could work together to find our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom said.

"Oh, oh, we can form our own secret society!"

Scootaloo taking the opportunity to seal the deal spoke up. "I'm liking this idea!" She said probably a bit to rehearsed sounding but it got the message across. Suddenly this entire conversation came back to her with a vengeance and she knew exactly what to say without skipping a beat, she also knew that it was Apple Bloom that had the final say in the name of their newly dubbed club.

After they formed the club and all was good, Blaze was not. She was panicking and felt like she just did something terrible. She felt like this was too simple and it made no sense that Scootaloo never showed up, but then it also made perfect sense if she was her all along. Suddenly that fear turned into giddiness. She was now going to form one of the most awesome clubs the world of Equestria had ever seen! And she was one of the founding members!

On her way back to the still wrecked club house she stopped and realized something.

"Crud! Fluttershy and Twilight know my name isn't Scootaloo!" Her eyes widened in shock, then she promptly relaxed and shrugged. "Ehh, I can just said Blaze is a nickname that I like." With a shrug she set off for her destination, making sure to let Apple Bloom and her sister go home first so as not to be seen.

"Okay, I'm now the founding member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders! But I live in a beat up club house. Eh, could be worse." She slept that night quite peacefully, not wondering what to do next or how to proceed, she simply dreamed of adventures.

Lurking just outside the clubhouse was a cloaked figure. The pony in question ascended the ladder and left a single envelop with the now sleeping Scootaloo. She smiled down on her and in a flash was gone. The envelop simply said 'Read Me' on the cover, the young pegasus filly stirred in her sleep gently and woke up noticing the letter. She read the cover and simply smiled with a hunch guessing who it was from, but for now sleep was her need and she decided reading could come later.

FIN