My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: The Cutie Mark Chronicles

A/N: Hey, guys, expect quite a few updates today since I'll be leaving for my vacation after I work my second job tomorrow, and boy do I need it.

Sunrise Blossom: Well, what do you expect when you stay up late watching Doctor Who?

Dede42: But, it was Tom Baker! He played the 4th Doctor and they got him to voice the animated parts of the missing episode Shada!

Sunrise Blossom: Still, not the smartest thing to do when you have a cold, Dede42.

Dede42: I know, I know.

Sunrise Blossom: You go take a nap and I'll take over from here, ok?

Dede42: Ok. (she leaves the writers studio.)

Sunrise Blossom: (turns to the camera) Yes, I'll be doing some of the postings today on her behalf, and I'm looking over her new original story for Season 1, and I see that the cold is clearly messing with her head since there are a few minor changes that I'll make on her behalf. Which means I need- Lyra!

Lyra: (who is removing a certain potion from the display case) Heh, hey there, Sunny.

Sunrise Blossom: If that potion is the one I think it is, then you better put it back, Lyra.

Lyra: Of course. (Runs off with the potion.)

Sunrise Blossom: Come back here! (she runs after the unicorn, almost running over Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.)

Applejack: What was that about?

Sweetie Belle: I think Lyra just stole one of Sunrise's potions.

Applejack: (covers her face with her hoof) Not again.

Apple Bloom: But if Sunrise ain't here and Dede42 ain't here, how is the chapter of our story going to get posted?

Scootaloo: We can post it!

CMCs: Yay!

Applejack: Actually, better let me do, sugarcube.

Apple Bloom: Ok!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from My Little Pony: Magic is Friendship. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER ONE: ZIP-LINE FAILURE AND APPLEJACK'S CUTIE MARK

It was another lovely day in Ponyville, and out in the forest, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had set up a zip-line, and they were getting ready to slid down to the other end, hoping that this would help them get their cutie marks.

Sweetie Belle peered over the edge of the platform they were standing on, wearing helmets and were strapped into harnesses, and she wasn't looking too keen on doing the zip-line. "Are you sure about this, Scootaloo?" she asked uncertainly. "I've never even heard of a pony zip lining before."

"Neither have I," Scootaloo admitted excitedly, "but Spike told me it was awesome!" She then jumped off the platform and zipped down the line, dragging her friends with her since they were roped together. They made halfway down when the rope suddenly drooped in the middle so that they got stuck, and the catches had gotten hot enough that they burned through the rope. The three fillies screamed when the rope snapped and they plunged through the tree branches.

After crashing through the trees, they landed in a sap-covered pile on the ground, and they all groaned. "Ow!"

Apple Bloom lifted her head to peer at her flanks. "See anything?"

Scootaloo got off her friends and checked, only to find that she had tree sap on her flank…again. "Tree sap and pine needles but no cutie mark," she reported, disappointed.

"Plan B?" Sweetie Belle suggested, sitting up.

"Yeah. You know where we can find a cannon at this hour?" Scootaloo asked with a crazed grin that alarmed her friends, and then she sighed dejectedly, tossing aside her helmet. "It's no use! No matter what we try, we always end up without our cutie marks," she complained. "And, surprisingly often, covered in tree sap."

"Maybe we should do something less dangerous, like pillow testing or flower sniffing," Sweetie Belle suggested.

Apple Bloom retrieved pails filled with water and towels so that they could clean themselves off, and she got an idea. "This town is full of ponies who have their cutie marks," she remarked. "Why don't we ask them how they did it?"

"That's a great safe idea," Sweetie Belle agreed, smiling as she cleaned off the last of the sap and dried herself off with the towel.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah! And we can start with the coolest pony in Ponyville."

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom suggested. "Or even Sunrise Blossom!"

"Rarity!" suggested Sweetie Belle eagerly.

Scootaloo shook her head. "Come on, guys, I said "cool"!" And she began flapping her wings so that she buzzed around her friends. "You know who I'm talking about. She's fast. She's tough. She's not afraid of anything!"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged a look. "Pinkie Pie?"

"No!" said Scootaloo. "The greatest flyer ever to come out of Cloudsdale."

"Fluttershy?"

"No!" Scootaloo said, exasperated. "Rainbow Dash!"

Apple Bloom nodded. "Oh! Yeah, that makes much more sense."

"Of course!" Sweetie Belle agreed.

"Let's do it," Scootaloo said eagerly. "Let's find out how Rainbow Dash earned her cutie mark!" And after her friends agreed, they high-hoofed, only to get stuck together since she hadn't gotten the sap off her hooves, and they groaned.

After getting unstuck and the sap washed off, Scootaloo retrieved her scooter, hooked the cart on the back, and soon they were on their way to the town to find the blue pegasus and learn how she got her cutie mark. They were traveling at a good pace when they almost ran into three rabbits, who were racing away from Sweet Apple Acres with apples clutched in their paws, and Applejack was chasing after them.

"Get back here, you thievin' varmints!" Applejack shouted, leaping out of the bushes.

"Thievin' what now?" Apple Bloom wondered and yelped when her big sister crashed into them, knocking them all to the ground.

Applejack grunted and peered at her little sister, who was sprawled on her back. "Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom raised her head and spotted her sister's cutie mark. "Hey sis! How'd you get your cutie mark?" she asked.

"I never told you that story?" Applejack asked as they all got up and dusted themselves off.

"Hey!" Scootaloo protested. "I thought we were gonna ask Rainbow Dash."

"We need all the help we can get," Apple Bloom pointed out, wanting to hear the story.

Scootaloo groaned. "Ugh. Fine."

Applejack waited until all three fillies were seated and she began her story. "Why, shoot. I was just a little filly. Even littler than y'all."

`"I didn't want to spend my life on a muddy old apple farm."` Young Applejack left the farm with her bag on a stick, and both Granny Smith and young Big Macintosh watched her leave with tears streaming down their cheeks, sad to see her go. Soon Applejack arrived in Manehatten and she explored the sights. `"I wanted to live the sophisticated life, like my Aunt n' Uncle Orange. So I set out to try my luck in the big city, Manehattan! The most cosmopolitan city in all of Equestria."`

Young Applejack went in search of her aunt and uncle's home and almost ran into Count Caesar, who snapped at her. "Hey! Outta the way, you rube!"

`"I knew I'd find out who I was meant to be in Manehattan."`

Soon young Applejack found the right apartment building and went up to the corrected floor, knocking on a door that had an orange on the front. The door opened and she greeted her relatives. "Aunt Orange! Uncle Orange! Thank y'all so much for lettin' me stay!"

Aunt Orange stepped aside to let her niece inside. ""Y'all"," she repeated, laughing. "Isn't she just the living end?"

Uncle Orange chuckled. "How quaint."

"Don't worry," Aunt Orange assured her niece. "We'll have you acting like a true Manehattanite in no time."

A few nights later, Young Applejack was seated at a long table with her relatives and their friends, who were chatting and sipping sparkling drinks through straws. She had her mane up in a fancy hairdo and she was doing her best not to sound like she was from the country.

"And how are you finding good old Manehattan?" Tall Order inquired.

"Oh, it's simply divine," Young Applejack answered, muffling her accent in order to sound cultured.

"Very well said, my dear," said Aunt Orange with approval.

"Although, I must admit the city noise took some getting used to," Young Applejack continued. "Where I'm from, nights are so quiet, you seldom hear a peep until the roosters wake you." She fought back a sigh when she earned confused looks and her aunt pushed some loose strands of hair back into the hairdo.

Dane Tee Dove blinked, confused. "The… what?"

"I say, my dear, what in the world is a "rooster"?" Tall Order inquired.

'What's he talking about?' Young Applejack wondered. 'What do I say? I don't wanna look like a fool.' She was saved from answering when the waiters came in with the food.

"Dinner is served."

"Thank goodness," she said, relieved as a covered plate was placed before her. "Being a city pony's hard work. I'm so hungry I could eat a…" she trailed off when the cover was removed to reveal a very small amount of fancy food. 'This is it?'

The next morning, Young Applejack got up before sunrise and went to the window to watch it rise. "Cock-a-doodle-doo…" she said before resting her chin on her forelegs, feeling very homesick. "Oh, I wonder what Granny Smith and Big McIntosh are up to," she said wistfully. "I bet they're applebuckin' their way through the Red Delicious trees. Oh, what I wouldn't give for just one bite…"

`"I never felt so homesick in all my days as I did right then."`

Just then, there was a massive explosion that made Young Applejack look up and her jaw dropped when she saw the most amazing rainbow arch through the sky and she watched as it disappeared in the direction of Ponyville! She quickly packed her bag, thanked her relatives, and then caught the next train back. Returning to Ponyville, she raced along the path until she reached Sweet Apple Acres, and was greeted by Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. They hugged each other and on Young Applejack's flank, three red apples appeared. She'd gotten her cutie mark!

`"It was amazin'! A rainbow pointin' right back to… home. In that moment, it all became clear. I knew right then just who I was supposed to be. That's when this here appeared."`

Applejack smiled at her cutie mark. "I've been happily workin' in the farm ever since," she concluded when the three rabbits from earlier blew raspberries at her, and she chased after them. "There they are! Get back here, ya thievin' varmints!"

"Aw," said Sweetie Belle, having enjoyed the story. "That was such a sweet story!" And Apple Bloom agreed.

"Sweet? Try sappy," said Scootaloo, mock-gagging and hopping back onto her scooter while her friends climbed back into the cart. "Come on! We've got to find Rainbow Dash and hear the cool way to get a cutie mark." And they were off once again to find a certain blue pegasus.

A/N: Yay! Our chapter is going to be posted! R&R everyone!