Apple Bloom knew she was different from the rest of the family, she knew ever since she tried to sell, buck, and bake apples, but failed to earn her cutie mark. Today she and her fellow cutie mark crusaders were trying something new to earn their cutie marks, carpentry, they were helping the carpenter making a house for a friend moving into town, and no pony else could help because Pinkie had every pony in Ponyville practicing for the surprise welcome party when the pony came. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had some trouble making furniture, but Apple Bloom was halfway through sanding and painting the roof when the carpenter called out to her, "Wow! You're great at this, kid!" At that moment Apple Bloom felt something on her flank, she looked down to see a hammer and paintbrush shape on her flank. She was skeptical due to her previous mishaps when she tried to help Pinkie bake and thought a splotch of flour was her cutie mark, but she tried rubbing, but the new shape was stained there like part of her coat. She screamed and jumped up, and fell off the roof, but quickly recovered. "My Cutie Mark! My Cutie Mark! My Cutie Mark!" the others heard and came in squealing with delight when they saw their friend's cutie mark "Oooh! Pretty!" Sweetie Belle said admiring Apple Bloom's new cutie mark. "Your talent is awesome Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo said enviously.
After they finished the house, though it was Apple Bloom who mostly helped, she ran home to show her family, though at first they thought she had been drinking potions again and that it was the cutie pox, but she soon proved to them that her new found talent was really hers. "Yee-haw! Your new, real talent is amazing AB!" Said very proud, and happy Applejack. "Ah Diggidy! That's some talent you got there half pint! Right Big Mac?" Granny Smith asked. "Eeyup!" Big Mac said half in tears.
The next day at school Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle approached her, "Does this mean we're no longer the cutie mark crusaders?!" Sweetie Belle asked in a very squeaky voice. "Of course not!" AB said "We still have to help y'all get your cutie marks!" she said enthusiastically. "Tomorrow we can try singing and dancing!" "B-butt! we can't do that in front of a crowd!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said at the same time. "Of course you can! And I already told DJ pony we would be performers in her music show!" Apple Bloom replied.
"Thanks for helping me out you guys!" DJ said, she turned to Apple Bloom, "You sure that pony can sing?" she whispered and pointed at Sweetie Belle who seemed to be shaking very violently and whispering the lyrics to herself. "I'm sure, she just has some stage fright." Apple Bloom said reassuringly-"And that one can dance?" DJ pointed to Scootaloo who seemed to be on the ground having a seizure. "I'm positive!" Apple Bloom said, though she began to doubt herself.
"Okay, we need to get y'all over stage fright!" Apple Bloom said once they got back to the club house. "S-sorry, we've really been t-trying." Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said in shaky voices. "Uh-huh." AB replied rolling her eyes. "Anyways, I've got some ideas, either you could pretend every pony in the crowd lost their coats, or sing and dance with your eyes closed, though I'm not sure how that would work out for you Scootaloo..." "How 'bout y'all give it a shot in front of Twilight, my sis, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, and see how you can do in front of them?" Apple Bloom asked. "O-ok" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said. "But seriously stop stuttering and speaking ununison. "O-" They both began, Scootaloo finished "-K"
That day they gathered the six mares and had a little show/rehearsal, the first few tries didn't go to well, Sweetie Belle fainted and Scootaloo hyperventilated. The next few weren't that much better, but at least Sweetie Belle didn't faint and Scootaloo wheezed less loudly. Eventually they got it right in front of their friends. "Well girls, we have made progress" Apple Bloom said.
It was the night of the show, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were nowhere in sight, but Apple Bloom assumed they were with Rarity getting dressed, but when she saw Rarity in the crowd she flipped and ran to Rarity to ask her where her friends were. "They never showed up, I thought that they changed their minds and didn't want the matching belts!Which in my opinion is a huge mistake!" Rarity told her. "Oh no! Were could they be?!" Apple Bloom got very worried. 'Hmm, f I were as deep and complex as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were would I be hiding?'Her eyes dulled as she opened the door to the club house-"Seriously?" She said as she saw her 2 friends in the corner. "S-sorry, w-we couldn't d-do it!" The 2 fillies said in unison, again. "Ok, c'mon, let's go."AB said calmly. "How about you try closing your eyes this time? And singing?" She asked. "Okay" Sweetie Belle said.
When they got back to the performance every pony was mumbling though the crowd when it would start. "Ok, get out there and have fun!" Apple Bloom told them as she pushed them on stage, the music started, Sweetie Belle started singing beautifully with her eyes shut as the crowd stood in awe. Scootaloo had also closed her eyes, but did very well, the ponies in the audience cheered for the 2 fillies. At the end of the recital, the crowd cheered and clapped there hooves as loud as they could. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo bowed, and felt something on their flanks, Sweetie Belle saw a music note inside a music staff inside a big pink heart and screamed! Scootaloo looked behind her at her flank and saw a bright pink and orange butterfly, though if her talent was dancing, why did she have a butterfly? 'Oh well, it's still a beautiful cutie mark, and it's mine!' she said to herself.
After the show Applejack ran up to hug her sister for helping her friends get their cutie marks. "Magnificent cutie mark Sweetie Belle! If I do say so myself!" Rarity told her little sister. "Not bad kid." Said Rainbow Dash looking at Scootaloo's cutie mark, "Almost as good as mine-almost" She told her. "Aww! Thanks Rainbow Dash, that really means a lot!" Scootaloo replied.
"Now when Babs comes, we have to help her!" Said Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo nodded. "Ugh!" Said Apple Bloom as she collapsed on the floor. The ponies laughed the rest of the night through.
"Babs! Babs!" the 3 little fillies yelled at the train station. "Where is she? Where's Babs?" asked Apple Bloom-"Don't worry she'll be here, but I don't know why your in such a rush, the Apple Family Reunion is coming up soon, and we have plenty of work to do wrapping up winter!" Applejack told her right before Babs stepped off the train with a questioning look-"Why did ya wanna- she gasped "Y-you got your cutie marks?! When?!" she asked very eagerly "Just a couple weeks ago!" Sweetie Belle said proudly- "Oh, so I guess the cutie mark crusaders finished." Babs said putting her tail on her flank. "Of course not! We still have to help the Manehattan branch of the CMC get their cutie marks!" Scootaloo said reassuringly. "Oh great! Cause me and my friends have tried everything, and I really need your help!" "Well, that's what we're here for!" the 3 replied "Oh good, I just can't wait to get started!" Babs replied "Well, before we start we need to wrap up winter, and our job is planting the seeds in the right sections and making sure they are watered, you can help! It'd go by way faster!" AB said to her "Um- sure." Babs replied "But now we gotta get some rest, cause it don't start 'till tomorrow and its getting late." Applebloom said to Babs when they got back to the farm-"I guess we gotta go home now" said Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle while making sad puppy faces. "Hey, can they stay over Applejack? Please-please-please-please-pleeeease?!" Apple Bloom asked her sister "Fine, but no staying up to late" Applejack told her. "Yay!" the 4 fillies cheered and soon went to bed.