Hello Fanfiction readers! It is I, Ashbel Longhart, finally back to bring you all another new chapter of my adventures in Equestria! Sorry, I've been gone for so long and I apologize for those who have been waiting patiently for a new chapter to appear but wait no longer for here it is!
*A portal to Equestria appears* Oh! And here's my ride! Man, haven't seen this thing in over a year. Welp, you know the drill, cue disclaimer!
(Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. All rights go to Hasbro Studios. I also don't own any songs that may seem familiar to you people. They belong to their respective owners as well. I just own this story and nothing more.)
Alright then, before I head out let's do a quick recap. Last time, I wasn't involved with the last episode, unlike other previous ones due to the fact that I was sidelined. As in, the spotlight was on someone else this time or somepony else in this case. Man, it's been a while since I've said that. Somepony...somepony...anyway not much else happened besides Stardust Chrome stepping in to help. But now it's time to head back in for some more fun! Let's go! I'll see you, readers, on the other side! Hup! *Jumps into portal*
Season 2-Friendship 6: Speak The Truth And Nothing But The Truth!
*crunch-crunch-crunch*
An audible crunch sound was hard as I ate my snacks consisting of cucumbers and green mangos. A weird combination, but enjoyable nonetheless. Typing down on my keyboard(a tiring process considering how big my hooves were), I made the finishing touches to the chapter I was working on before publishing it.
"...I can't believe I actually wrote this," I said to myself as I looked on the screen of my laptop.
Title: I'm a Pony?
Summary: A young starting to be brony gets transported to Equestria. That line would have been a great way to start a summary if it wasn't for the fact that I WAS THE ONE THAT GOT TRANSPORTED! Whoever did this to me can go fuck themselves. *A Self-Insert* Rated T to be safe.
...So would this still be considered a fictional story or an autobiography? Technically speaking, I'm writing about being put into the show of MLP, and yet here I am experiencing just that! Oh if only the people on Earth knew...
"Whatcha doing?" A voice spoke up from behind me. Spinning my office chair around, I saw Spike sitting on my bed with a Naruto manga book in his hands.
"Writing, as usual," I said as this wasn't the first time Spike has seen me write on my laptop. "And just what are you doing? And when did you come in here?" I didn't hear him come into the room.
"Your door was open," Seriously? I thought I had that thing locked? Do I just keep forgetting to lock the doors, or are all locks in this world faulty? It would certainly explain how Discord, the unpredictable guy that he was, managed to get his hands on the Elements right from under Celestia's nose. Either that or he used the power of teleportation, he always seems to be a fan of doing that.
"I also came here to grab the next volume," Spike said, showing me the book in his hands. A few more volumes and he'd be starting Naruto Shippuden soon.
"I see...How do you like the story so far?"
"It's awesome!" As if flipping a switch, the baby dragon shouted out in excitement as he waved around the book in hand. "I'll admit the scenes of blood kind of scared me a little, but that just adds to the appeal of the characters and battles! I can confidently say that this is better than any comic book I've read in the past."
"Is that so?" I said with a small smile, glad he was enjoying the story of Naruto.
"All the fight scenes are awesome! The way they throw out jutsu's at each other and the way everyone fights like how Naruto uses his Shadow Clones and other stuff like the Chidori and the Summonings! I never would have thought a toad of all things could be so cool."
"Didn't I catch you trying to imitate Sasuke's Katon no Jutsu?" I said, smiling as the memory of where the dragon tried to imitate said jutsu using his own flames.
"I thought I said never to bring that up!" Spike exclaims with a huge blush on his face. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, sorry, sorry. But, since we're on the topic of characters, who's your favorite?" He opens his mouth. "Besides Naruto, of course." And then closes it, going into deep thought.
"Well, if I had to pick, I'd say...Rock Lee."
"Really? Him?" I raised an eyebrow at that. To be honest I didn't expect Spike to pick him out.
"Yeah. I mean, he can't really do any fancy ninjutsu's like everyone else, but he makes up for it with hard work. And everyone likes a good underdog, myself included," Spike explained.
"Hmm, I know what you mean. I'm pretty fond of Rock myself," I said, thinking about the bowl-cut haired, spandex-wearing ninja. His fight against Gaara actually made me shed a tear.
"Though, if I had to say who was my favorite, I'd pick Shikamaru." I said.
"You would pick him," Contrary to what I thought, Spike was not surprised by my choice.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked the baby dragon, curious as to how he knew I would pick the lazy, but strategic ninja.
"Well, you two have a lot in common, it just kinda makes sense, you know?" Spike said, shrugging his shoulders a little.
I wanted to call out the dragon for his weak reasoning but chose not too because it was true. Out of all the Naruto characters, I did have a few things in common with Shikamaru. His laziness was one thing as, much as I hate to admit it, I can be quite lazy if I don't have anything to do. Thinking about it now, perhaps that's why I keep involving myself in every episode event.
"So..." I was snapped out of my thoughts when Spike up, looking sheepish as he absentmindedly flipped through the pages of the book without looking at them.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Well, um, I was just wondering...what's your world like?" I blinked in surprise, having not expected such a question from the baby dragon.
"Why do you ask?" I asked, wondering what brought this up.
"Well, despite everyone knowing that you're not really a pony but from another world, you don't really talk about said world a lot," Spike said with a small shrug. "Really, I think the only one you've talked with is Twilight. She talks about stuff I don't know about like 'airplanes' and the 'internet,' whatever those are."
Once again, I blink in surprise as I rubbed the back of my head. Have I really only spoken to Twilight about my world? Surely I've told the others about-wait, it was probably when I still keeping the fact that I'm human from them and told them my world was simply another country. But...
'You would think I would have at least talked about my world with Spike,' I thought. I've told him about stuff like Pokemon and manga...and nothing else. Huh, I guess I really haven't talked about my world with Spike after all.
"Well..."
"Ash!" Before I get any more words out, Twilight called out for me from downstairs. "Apple Bloom and the girls are here!"
Oh yeah, that's right. AB said she and the others had a new idea for trying to discover their Cutie Marks. As their leader, I was obligated to watch over them.
"In a minute!" I called back before turning to Spike. "Sorry, Spike. Maybe next time?"
"Sure, that's fine," Spike said and I smiled in appreciation before grabbing my Mary Poppins' bag and ran downstairs.
"Have fun!" Twilight said to me, looking away from a book she was currently reading.
"I'll be back in time for lunch," I said as I closed the door behind me and turned to the CMC. "Hey girls."
"Hey, Ash!" AB smiled as did the other girls. "You ready for today?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," I said with a small shrug.
"Good enough," AB said before turning around and pointing dramatically. "To the bowling alley!"
I can almost hear the Batman music when she said that. Now, let's see what today's episode has in store for me. Hopefully, I'm not sidelined like last time.
"Today's the day, Cutie Mark Crusaders! I can just feel it!" Apple Bloom announced, smiling confidently as she placed her hoof on the bowling ball in front of her. "Today's the day we are all gonna get our Cutie Marks in...bowlin'!"
Just as Apple Bloom had announced, I stood with the CMC in front of the town's bowling alley. On a side note, just how big was this town? Cause I'm pretty sure this bowling alley wasn't here until last week.
"Whoo-hoo!" Scootaloo cheered, she and Sweetie Belle carrying their own personal bowling ball in a bag. I was the only one without a bowling ball, but I'm pretty sure that can easily be changed thanks to my Mary Poppins' bag. On another side note, just where did these girls get the money to buy their own bowling balls? Or did they borrow it from somepony? The latter seems more likely.
Sweetie let out a muffled "Whoo!" until she dropped her bag she was carrying in her mouth before saying, "I mean, yay!"
"I can't believe I let you girls talk me into this," I said. I had nothing against bowling, really. I enjoy it just about as much as the average person. What I wasn't happy about was that I had to pay for these girls to get in.
"Oh don't be like that, Ash," AB said. "Why, after today, we won't even be the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore! We'll be the... the Four Strikes!
"That makes us sound like we've struck out...badly," Yeah, if you were playing baseball, Scootaloo, which we're not.
"Mmm. How 'bout the Pin Twins?"
"But there are four of us," Sweetie pointed out.
"Okay then... Um... the Bowlin' Dolls!"
"Ahem!" I raised my voice, reminding the yellow filly that I was the only male, or stallion in this case, here.
"Uh..."
"Maybe we can get back to renaming our group after we get our Cutie Marks?" Sweetie suggested, saving her fellow filly.
"Sure, let's do that!"
"Come on already! Let's go before all the spots are taken," Scootaloo impatiently said.
"Now, now, hold your hooves, Scootaloo. Remember," I held up my bag of money. "I'm the one who's paying for all of this."
"And we thank you for that," Scootaloo said, she and the other girls smiling at me innocently. I thought for a second I saw halo rings above their heads.
I rolled my eyes but smiled nonetheless as I opened the doors for the girls as they immediately rushed in. At my own pace, I followed them in.
The inside of the building was pretty snazzy if I do say so myself, looking to be how an old bowling alley looked but looking pretty modern at the same time. In short, it was nice. All around us were ponies playing in their own lane, dressed for the part. I was kinda, almost the same, having left my usual cloak back at Twilight's place and was instead wearing a white polo shirt for today. Of course, this meant that my Cutie Mark was out for all to see. I had nothing against the tattoo on my butt, but without my usual cloak and with me only wearing a shirt, it was like walking around without any pants...and underwear.
Anyway, once I paid for us to play we were lucky to find an open spot. We got our balls ready and the first one up was Sweetie. Lining up her ball, she pushed it off with her nose and...got a gutterball.
"Shrug it off, Sweetie Belle," I said and the filly did just that, not in the least bothered by her fail.
Next up was Sccotaloo. Lining up her ball, she turned around and bucked the bowling ball. The results...
"Jesus!" I quickly ducked, just in time to dodge the incoming bowling ball that was bouncing around which it really shouldn't be able to do considering it was made up of...graphite, I think? Looking back up, the ball eventually found itself on another lane...and rolled into the gutter. All stares were then directed towards us.
"Ehehe, sorry about that. Carry on," I said, apologizing for Scootaloo and smiled nervously as I quickly pulled her back.
Apple Bloom was the last one up, trying to figure out how to grab ahold of the ball. She ended up using her mouth and practically spat her ball out. The result...
*STRIKE!*
Immediately, everypony in the building cheered in excitement.
"Cool! A bowling Cutie Mark!" One pony commented. I think her name is Sea Swirl? I'll probably forget her name by the end of the day.
"I did it! I did it!" AB cheered, checking her flank to find it, "Blank?"
"Um, Apple Bloom?" I spoke up, getting the filly's attention as I pointed over to a filly, the one who got the strike, who was pointing at her new Cutie Mark depicting a bowling ball hitting a pin. So her talent lies in bowling? So what, she'll go pro in the future? Join a team and enter competitions? Now that I think about it, what sports are popular in this world? All I know is the stuff Rainbow and her idols, the Wonderbolts, do is quite popular among Pegasi.
"But...but...what about my ball?" AB asks, looking back to where her ball was. It was still in the lane, rolling so slow that by the time it reached the pins, not a single one fell down. Ouch.
"Hey, cheer up," I said to the sadden filly, patting her on the back. "We barely just started. Don't act like it's the end of the world." AB didn't respond back. I guess seeing another pony get her Cutie Mark, the exact thing these girls were here to do, really hit her hard. Better think of something fast to cheer her up.
Looking left and right, I went and grabbed a ball for myself.
"Here, why I don't I show you how to at least serve the ball properly," I said, stepping forth as the others watched. Now then...
'How the fuck do I do this?' I thought to myself, having no idea where to begin. From the girls' earlier demonstration, I knew their methods were not going to work so I had to think of a way to do this right. I tried looking to other ponies to see how they did it, but the ones playing right now were either pegasi or unicorns with the latter simply using magic to roll the ball out.
Dammit! If only I had hands! Then this wouldn't be so hard. With opposable thumbs and fingers, holding a bowling ball and rolling it would be as easy as if I were still human. Man, what I would give to having something grab and hold the ball. Like maybe, a Stand from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Or maybe something simple like levitating it like using the Force from Star-
"Whoa!" I never got to finish thoughts as I let out a cry of surprise. Why? Because a lean, muscular arm suddenly appeared from my body, grabbed the bowling ball in front of me, and sent it rolling with enough force to score a Strike but to also punch through the wall. No, I am not making this up and no, I am not tripping. Naturally, this caught everypony's attention.
"Uh..." Was my brilliant response as I looked between the staring ponies and the arm that was floating beside me which soon vanished as if it were never there. Looking back at everypony looking at me, I cursed under my breath, thinking of how to explain this.
"Ahem!" But it seems I was spared from having to explain myself as the owner of this bowling alley arrived, raised his voice, and glared over at me and the CMC.
As one, we all smiled nervously. A second later...we were promptly kicked out.
"Well that could have gone better," I said to mostly myself as I stood up and adjusted my backpack and walked with the girls. I don't think I'll be allowed in that building for a while.
"It was fun while it lasted, " Sweetie said, trying to sound positive.
"Yeah, but I don't think Mr. Kingpin is ever going to let us play again after that," Scootaloo said-wait a minute, that's his name? What is he, from Spider-Man?
"Hey, Ash?" Sweetie spoke up, turning to me. "How did you pick up the ball like that earlier?"
I can practically feel the nervousness well up inside of me as I said, "What do you mean?" In hindsight, that was a dumb thing to say.
"You know when you tried to show us how to properly roll the ball? You levitated it off the ground and made that hole in the lane," Sweetie said-wait. Levitate?
"Yeah, how'd you do that?" Scootaloo asked. "I mean, you're not a unicorn and I didn't see any magic being used."
"You all...didn't see it?" And when I meant 'it' I, of course, meant the arm that appeared earlier. It was really hard to miss considering it was coming from my body, yet these two talks as if they didn't see it.
"See what?" Turns out they really didn't see the arm from earlier.
"You know, the arm?"
"What arm?" Sweetie and Scootaloo titled their heads in confusion. Did...Did they really not see it? Come to think of it, they weren't pointing out how I was glowing earlier either.
'Could it have something to do with the special powers I got from Light?' I thought to myself. I had still yet to figure out how I shot flames out of my hooves just like Dantes from FGO.
A sigh brought me out of my thoughts as me and the girls all turned to a still sadden AB. The sight of another filly getting her Cutie Mark instead of her must've hurt her more than I thought.
"Ah, come on, Apple Bloom. Cheer up," Scootaloo said, forgetting about questioning me in favor of trying to help her friend.
"Yeah, this isn't the first time we failed to get a Cutie Mark," Sweetie joined in. "I know just what you need to put the bloom back on your apple."
And that would be...?
(Sugarcube Corner)
"A treat from Sugarcube Corner will cheer you up," Sweetie said, offering a cupcake to the yellow filly. Also how the heck did we get to Sugarcube Corner so fast? I literally blinked and here we are. Is it TV powers again?
"No, it won't," AB said, pushing the cupcake away. Had I been a heartless person, I would have taken the cupcake from her regardless of the situation. I almost did.
"A party will cheer you up!" Pinkie Pie suggested, wait, when did she get here? I mean, I know she works here, but when exactly did she show up? And how did she set up these decorations so fast? Her Party Cannon? But I didn't hear anything go off. TV Powers then?
As Scootaloo and Sweetie blow a pair of kazoos, they along with Pinkie await for AB's answer. I already knew what the filly would say.
"No, it won't." Well, that was a bust. What next?
(Rarity's Boutique)
"A lovely new chapeau will cheer you up" Rarity said-wait, Rarity!? When she get here!? And when did we get to her boutique? Did we transition scenes?
Placing the lack of a better word feathery hat on the filly, the others wait with nervous smiles for her answer. Once again, I knew the obvious answer.
"No, it won't," The filly seemed to emphasize the last word this time as she shook the hat off and left the boutique. Sending Rarity a look of apology, the girls and I followed after AB.
"Come on, Apple Bloom, it's just a cutie mark!" Scootaloo, now on her scooter, shouted over to the filly up ahead who didn't respond back.
"Or lack of a cutie mark!" Had I still have fingers, I would have flicked Sweetie across the forehead for that.
"Shh! That's not helping!" Scootaloo said as she and I glared at the unicorn before looking back to see AB walking off the path and heading towards the Everfree Forest. "Apple Bloom! Where are you going?! Apple Bloom, come back!"
"Oh geez," I groaned before turning to the others. "I'll go after her. You two head-on home."
"But-"
"No but's. I don't want to be the one who has to explain why I brought you girls to the Everfree Forest," I said. But seriously though, those ponies can be too paranoid. They treat the place like a hazard zone. I don't really see what they have to be afraid of, they have magic for crying out loud!
The girls looked ready to protest, but I gave them a look that made them back down. Satisfied, I left the girls to chase after AB. I wasn't worried about leaving Sweetie and Scootaloo alone. One thing was for sure, Ponyville was filled with the kindest Ponies in Equestria and thus I didn't have to worry about the girls getting into trouble.
It didn't take me long to find and catch up to AB. Before I had the chance to call out to her, the young filly suddenly tripped on a tree root and fell down a small cliff.
"Oh my god, Apple Bloom!" Worry flooded in me as I rushed on over and jumped, reaching down to AB who was on the ground groaning and holding her mouth. Ignoring the small vibrations in my legs, I was instantly by the filly's side.
"Apple Bloom, are you okay?" AB gave me a groan. "You're right, that was a dumb question. Let me see your mouth."
Moving aside her hoof, AB slowly showed her mouth to me where I saw one of teeth had chipped, no doubt caused by her fall.
"How much does it hurt?" I asked as I gently moved her head around to get a better look at it.
"It's not too bad, just aches like crazy," AB groaned with an obvious lisp in her tone, moving her tongue around the chipped tooth.
"Don't do that," I instantly berated her before thinking of what to do now.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Suddenly, a familiar voice speaks up from behind me and I turned to see none other than Zecora. "Why, it's Apple Bloom and Ash Heart, whose eyes are ever so clear." Was that a jab towards my eyes?
"Nice to see you too, Zecora," I greeted the zebra who I haven't seen in quite a while. I nearly forgot she was in today's episode.
AB suddenly lets out another groan and Zecora takes notice instantly.
"What has happened to you, youth?" In response, AB showed her her chipped tooth. "Ah, you've gone and chipped your tooth."
"Can you help us, Zecora?" I asked. Knowing the zebra, she must have some potions that might fix AB's tooth. In fact, I'm sure she did.
"But of course," Zecora said, motioning us to follow her. "Come with me, I have just the trick that will fix you up quite quick."
And with that, AB and I followed Zecora to her home where she instantly got to brewing a potion. In the meantime, AB took this time to vent out her frustrations.
"I've tried everything, Zecora, and still no cutie mark! Why I'm gonna be as old as Granny Smith and still have a blank flank!"
"Your frustration is well understood, but one must be patient for all things good," Zecora said, moving around to find the needed ingredients.
"Is this it?" I asked the zebra, helping her out. Shaking her head, I put back the vial before grabbing another.
"Ugh, I've heard that from every pony I know! And now from every zebra, I know! I'm just too impatient to be patient," That doesn't make any sense. "I just want my cutie mark and I want it now!"
"Patience, young padawan," I said in a mock Obi-Wan voice as I handed Zecora the last thing she needed for her potion. "I understand you're frustrated, especially after what happened today, but like everypony keeps telling you, you just have to be patient. You'll only harm yourself if you rush things. I mean, we have done some pretty dangerous stuff in pursuit of your Cutie Mark, but my point still stands."
"The young Heart is right on the mark. Your Cutie mark will just have to wait. We must first fix that tooth up before it's too late," Zecora said, putting in the finishing touches to her potion before grabbing a wooden ladle and scooped up a portion before pouring it into a nearby bowl. "Now drink down every little drop, and this mixture will mend that chip on top!"
Giving an unsure look to the liquid in front of her, AB toughed it out and chugged the whole thing down like a champ. Dropping the bowl, AB went over to a nearby vase clean enough to where it showed off her reflection. Right before my eyes, the chipped part of her tooth seemingly grew before receding back to where AB's tooth was as good as new as if she never chipped it in the first place.
"It never ceases to amaze me how effective your potions can be, Zecora," I said to the Zebra, giving the zebra a look of thanks.
"Yeah, they're amazing! Thanks!" AB said, thanking the zebra before looking around. "Golly, you have tonics that heal all sorts of ailments. Bad bones, bad back, bad breath..." What was that last one? I'll take your entire stock! If there's one thing I hate about mornings besides getting up from bed, it's morning breath. Ugh!
"Yes little one, it is true, I have many a healing brew," Zecora said, looking quite proud.
"You think I can get one for bad breath?" I asked the zebra, taking out my wallet if you can call a bag of coins that.
"No need for that, dear friend," Zecora said, grabbing the requested tonic and handed it to me. "Considering it a thanks for what you did last weekend."
"What, you mean when I got you those ingredients?" I asked, having delivered some plants and herbs the zebra needed last weekend. Apparently, Twilight was supposed to give it to her herself, but something came up and so I did the delivery for her.
"Don't mention it," I said, but took the tonic anyways. "But thanks anyway."
"You not only have stuff that fixes the bad but stuff that brings the good too!" AB said, still looking through Zecroa's collection of potions. "Good health, good hair... good heavens! Hmm..." Suddenly, AB has a look realization before she walks over to us, specifically Zecora. "I bet you can mix up a brew to fix... anything." She says while moving her flank for emphasis. It was easy to see just what she was implying.
"Apple Bloom, no," I said, pushing the filly away from the zebra. "You are not using one of Zecora's potions to try and discover your Cutie Mark."
"It is just as your leader says," Zecora said. "There are many mixtures in this room, but none for what you want, dear Apple Bloom. A magic potion does not hold the key. For a cutie mark, time is the only remedy."
"You hear that?" I said to the filly.
"Yeah, yeah, fine," AB said, pouting. "Not like I haven't heard any other pony telling me that."
"Well, maybe everypony wouldn't have to keep telling you that if you just learn to be more patient," I said as Zecora was busy mixing something up. This instantly caught AB's attention, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the same.
"Whatcha got goin' on there?" AB asked as the zebra worked.
"I am brewing up another mix for a rooster and his chicks," Zecora said before stuffing her head down a vace, no doubt to look for more ingredients. "It seems the rooster has lost his crow, making mornings very slow," Zecroa then reemerged with a fancy looking flower in her mouth.
"Hey, I've seen that flower bloomin' in Ponyville!" AB said. "What is it?"
"It is one we call 'Heart's Desire'. A dash will ignite the rooster's fire," Zecora said, shaking the plant in her mouth, causing heart-shaped petals to fall into the bowl. "With Heart's Desire, his talent comes into view, and he'll give a mighty cock-a-doodle-doo!" Was that last part really necessary?
"Zowie!" AB exclaims in amazement before a look of realization appears on her face. "Heart's Desire, huh?"
"Ay me, but what is this? I have run out of amethyst," Zecora said after checking her shelves to no avail. "I must go get this purple flower for my brew to have full power!"
"You do that Zecora," I said as I went and grabbed AB. "I think it's time Apple Bloom and I head back to Ponyville."
"Wha-! Hey! Let me go, Ash!" AB waved her arms around in protest, but I kept a good grip on her as I dragged her over to the door.
"See ya around, Zecora," Completely ignoring the filly in my hooves, I waved goodbye to the zebra.
"And you as well my eccentric friend," Eccentric? Is that how she sees me?
Shrugging, I dragged AB out of the house.
"Hey! Ash, I said let go!" AB cried out in protest.
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning," I said as I finally let go of the filly and turned to face her.
"The hay are you talking about?" AB tried to look innocent, but I wasn't fooled.
"Don't think you can fool me, Apple Bloom. You were planning on using the Heart's Desire in hopes that it would get you your Cutie Mark."
"I wasn't-!" I gave her a look. "I...okay, you're right. But it can't hurt to try, right?"
"No," I said in a stern tone, making AB flinch. Seeing this, I calmed down and sighed. "Look, Apple Bloom, I get it. You're upset about not getting your Cutie Mark as fast as you want it to. It certainly doesn't help that another pony got theirs right before your eyes. But like I and every other pony keep on telling you, there is no easy way of getting a Cutie Mark. These things take time."
"Says the pony with a Cutie Mark," AB said, pointing at my own Mark before walking away, clearly upset. "You're not even a real pony, so how would you know I feel?"
"Apple Bloom!" I called out to the filly, but she didn't stop walking and instead sped up into a full run. I sighed in indignation before following after the filly. Someone had to look after her until we were out of this forest, but the young pony made it clear she didn't want to talk anymore.
Great, Ash Heart, just great. You managed to upset a 4-year-old, or at least I think she is. I don't really know AB's age. But at least I managed to prevent her from using a Heart's Desire. Now I just need to find a way to make up with the yellow filly.
(The Next Day)
"And that was how Thomas Edison created the first lightbulb. His success and invention changed the structure of society, allowing activities to extend into the night," I said as I walked with Twilight and Spike, the latter of which was riding on my back currently. We all had just finished eating lunch and were now currently shopping in town.
"Amazing!" Twilight said, her eyes filled with amazement as she held up(via magic) a lightbulb that I had taken out to show her. "To think such a small thing could cause such a huge change!"
"Just goes to show what people can do if they set their minds to it," I said with a shrug. "It's like he once said, 'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'"
"That's certainly one way to look at it," Twilight said, smiling as she handed back the lightbulb. "So, do we have everything we need?"
"We should," I said before looking back to Spike who was carrying the bags. "Spike?"
"Everything accounted for," Spike said, giving us the 'ok' sign.
"Good," I said before looking towards Twilight. "I swear Twilight, you go through parchment just as fast as Pinkie eating cupcakes."
"Says the pony who goes through our fruit supply just as fast," Twilight shot back. "Need I bring up the number of tangerines you consume on a daily basis? Or how you eat a quarter of an entire watermelon?"
"Hey, it's good fruit," I said with a shrug. It's true that I do tend to go through quite a lot of fruit, they're just that good. Sue me.
"Hey, Rarity!" Suddenly, Spike stood up and waved over at Rarity who was just passing by.
"Oh? Why hello darlings," Rarity greeted us as we walked over to her. "Out shopping I see."
"Yeah, just some groceries and some stuff Twilight needs," I said as Spike raised the bags of mention.
"What are you doing?" Twilight asked as we all began walking together.
"I just came back from a trip to the spa," Rarity said. "I was just about to head on over to Fluttershy's. I left Opal in her care."
"Rough day?" I asked. I noticed that Rarity tends to visit the spa after a rough day at work.
"A few orders from some new clients, nothing I can't handle," Rarity said when suddenly, the sound of commotion drew our attention.
"What's going on?" I thought out loud, making out the sounds of cheering. Soon after did Sweetie Belle suddenly appear, running up to us.
"Sis! Ash! You gotta see this!"
"See what?" I asked, me and the rest of us naturally confused.
"Come on!" Insisting that we follow her, we were left with little choice, but to follow the horned filly as she led us over to...
"Is that Apple Bloom spinning a hula-hoop with her tail...while balancing two spinning plates?" Spike asked, calling it just as he saw it.
Indeed, right before our eyes was the young Earth Pony herself, balancing two spinning plates on a stick on top of her head while spinning a metal hoop around with her tail.
"Uh...what?" Was my brilliant response to what I was seeing right now.
"You'll never believe this, but Apple Bloom got her Cutie Mark, two of them in fact!" Sweetie Belle said in an excited tone.
"Two Cutie Marks?" Twilight said, raising an eyebrow as she looked over at the yellow filly in both surprise and confusion before crying out in surprise when AB suddenly threw the metal hoop over at us, spinning against Twilight's mane until it was styled exactly like Rarity's.
"Oh my!" Rarity let out a gasp of surprise as she smiled, no doubt thinking her hairstyled looked quite good on the purple unicorn. Spike certainly thinks so what with those hearts in his eyes. And I will admit, it didn't look too bad, but I much prefer her regular hairstyle.
Looking back towards AB, we all watched as the filly showcased her talents.
She stood on top of the metal hoop, balancing and moving around on top of it, spinning the thing around both hers and Granny Apple's neck, catching multiple plates and a pie which was thrown to her by AJ before she sent both those things up into the air as well as the metal hoop which spun around the pie and somehow sliced the thing into even pieces as the plates all landed on tables with the pies landed on the former where ponies stood waiting to eat. All in all, it was an impressive display of...well, talent.
"Two Cutie Marks, I can hardly believe it," Twilight said in disbelief while she fixed her mane.
"Yeah, me neither," I said, narrowing my eyes at the yellow filly in suspicion. I could have sworn I stopped her from using a Heart's Desire plant, so how was this possible?
"I didn't know it was possible for a pony to have two Cutie Marks!" Spike said, surprised but was nonetheless enjoying the show before us.
"It isn't," I said, being the only one not enjoying what was happening.
"Ash?" Twilight looked over at me, noticing my displeasure.
Remaining silent, I motioned Spike to get off of me before I made my way over to AJ who had been watching her sister show off with a smile, the type of smile where one was proud of another.
"Applejack," I spoke up once near her, getting her attention as she turned towards me.
"Are ya seeing this, Ash?" AJ said as she gestures over to AB. "To have not one, but two Cutie Marks! Who would have thought my Lil' sis would be so talented! Oh, I'm so proud..."
"I'm glad that you're happy, but I wouldn't go celebrating just yet," I said, getting the Earth Pony's attention when she saw my expression.
"Is something the matter, Ash?"
"I want you to keep a close eye on Apple Bloom," I said as I glanced over at the filly showing off to her friends and fellow classmates. "I would talk to her myself, but I doubt she'll want to talk to me directly. If anything...weird happens then I want you to come over to Twilight's place."
"What are you saying?" AJ asked with a worried expression.
"I'm saying I may know why your sister has two Cutie Marks," I said, glancing over at the yellow filly again. How I so much just wanted to march out there and confront the yellow filly. I just don't understand how this could have happened when I know I prevented AB from taking the Heart's Desire from Zecora. Did she go back to the zebra without me knowing?
In any case, tomorrow will certainly be...interesting.
(The Next Day, Early Morning)
It was early morning, around 3 o'clock when there was a loud banging on the door. Having been the only one awake during that time, I went to answer the door and just as I feared, there stood AJ with a worried expression accompanied by her sister, tap-dancing like crazy.
"I'll get Twilight," I said, letting the two in as I went and woke up Twilight and Spike from their room. While annoyed that I woke them up so early in the morning, they instantly woke up when they laid eyes on AB's current condition.
"What...am I even looking at?" Twilight said, staring in disbelief at the sight before her: AB tap-dancing while still balancing those two plates on a stick and spinning around the metal hoop with her tail. And there, on her flank was not one, not two, but three Cutie Marks, one for each of the things the young filly was currently doing.
"Three cutie marks. Three talents. I've never seen anything like it!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise.
"Ash told me to come see y'all if anything happened," AJ said while keeping a worried look on AB.
"Ash?" Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion as she turned towards me.
"I was suspicious about why Apple Bloom had two Cutie Mark, something that's never been seen before," I said, lying. I knew what was going on, but kept quiet as to delude everyone from knowing just how I knew. It did not escape me how ironic that today's episode was about being honest and here I am still keeping secrets.
"Spike, did you find that book I wanted?" I asked the dragon who was currently looking through the shelves.
"'Perplexing Pony Plagues', this it?" Spike asked, holding up the book.
"That's the one," I said as the baby dragon jumped down from the ladder and landed perfectly onto my back. Grabbing the book from him, I placed the book down on Twilight's podium and flipped through the pages until I found what I wanted.
"Here it is," I said as Twilight came over to see just what I was doing and gasped.
"Cutie Pox!"
"Cutie Pox!?" AJ, AB, and Spike all exclaimed in confusion.
"Ash, how did you know this?" Twilight asks me.
"I was suspicious as to how Apple Bloom obtained more than one Cutie Mark," I said. "I didn't want to jump to any conclusions since I'm not as knowledgable about Cutie Marks as you all. But it looks like I was right to assume."
"What in the hay are Cutie Pox?" AJ asked and Twilight returned to the book.
"Cutie Pox: This puzzling pony plague afflicted a population of ponies back in the Paleopony Period!" Twilight read off. And Paleopony? Was that even a word?
"Heh, say that ten times fast!" Spike said, trying to lighten up the mood. It didn't.
"Not the time, Spike," I said after giving him a disapproving look.
"What else does it say?" AJ asked, prompting Twilight to continue reading.
"Random cutie marks appeared all over the ponies' bodies, causing them to perform all the talents that came with them!"
"Just like me!" AB exclaimed.
"Yes, but what's the cure? What's the cure?!" AJ asked in a desperate tone.
"It says here...that there's no known cure!"
"What!?"
"The cause of the breakout was never discovered, and the cutie pox disappeared as mysteriously as they arrived," I finished for Twilight.
"That can't be!" AB exclaims in disbelief. And then, suddenly, a flash of light appeared on the filly's flank and when it died down, it revealed—wait, there's a Cutie Mark for that!?
"Sacré bleu! Plus de marques de cutie!" AB spoke in fluent French(at least I think it's fluent) before she gasps as she realizes that she was speaking in French. "Qu'est-ce c'est?! Je parle Français?!" God, what I wouldn't give for subtilities right now. No, wait, no! Focus Ash! Focus! That is not the problem right now!
"My sister's speakin' in fancy!" Calm down, AJ. Sure, the french language does sound quite fancy but that's no reason to get worked up. Though maybe it's the fact that another Cutie Mark just popped up, in which case it's a perfectly legitimate reason to freak out.
"She needs help!" No shit Sherlock!
"I know she needs help!" AJ shouted. "We can't just wait for this to go away! We gotta find somepony to mix up a cure! And fast!"
"Tout de suite!" AB exclaims though I have no idea what the heck she just said.
"Well, if we're talking about mixing up cures, there's really only one pony for the job," I said. "Or should I say, one zebra..."
"Zecora!" Both ponies exclaim in realization.
"Move out gang!" I pointed dramatically towards the door before we all ran outside in the direction of the Everfree Forest and towards the path that would take us to Zecroa's place. But with AB's continued tap-dancing, we were slowed down immensely.
"Hurry! Hurry!" AJ cried over to the tap-dancing filly as we were forced to stop in the middle of town for the filly to catch up.
"Dépêchez-vous!" Again, I have no idea what she just said, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that she was trying.
But suddenly, another flash of light appeared and a new Cutie mark depicting a hammer and some other tool I couldn't recognize showed up. Whatever it was though, it made AB go off and construct an impressive-looking sculpture depicting a pony with a long, flowing mane that covered its naked body. Again, impressive, but why cover yourself when most ponies don't even go around wearing clothes in the first place?
Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. One by one at an alarming rate, more and more Cutie Marks appeared all over AB's body. Chimney cleaning, accordion playing, lion taming(where the fuck did those lions come from!), chess, fencing, you name it. It soon got to the point where a crowd was gathering and—Spike why the hell are you eating popcorn!? And where did you even get those?
"Really?" I gave the baby dragon a disapproving look.
"What?" Spike said, not seeing the problem.
"Give me that!" I said, snatching the small bucket of popcorn from Spike...before proceeding to eat them myself.
"Hey!"
"She's cursed!" One of the gathered ponies exclaims in fear while AB was currently tight roping. Soon after more and more ponies started to comment with none of them being positive.
"Hexed!" And now AB's hang gliding. How the fuck did she get up there?
"Enchanted!"
"No she's not," Spike said after giving up from trying to take back the popcorn from me.
The ponies breathed a sigh of relief...until...
"She just has some weird mysterious disease with no known cure called Cutie Pox." Spike! The fuck!?
"Cutie Pox!" Everypony in town exclaims as a mass panic ensues. In the blink of an eye, everypony ran into their homes, leaving the streets deserted save for me, Spike, and the girls. And was that a hawk I just heard?
"I thought I had removed their fear the last time that I visited here," Suddenly, appearing seemingly from out of nowhere was none other than the zebra herself, Zecora. "But doors are barred and shutters shut. Guess I should've stayed inside my hut." She looks offended.
"Zecora!" Twilight, registering Zecora's presences, points over to AB who was currently doing some algebra while still tap-dancing. You'd' think the other Cutie Marks would have canceled that out by now. "Apple Bloom has cutie pox! We were just on our way to see if you had a cure!"
"But magically you're here!" AJ cheered. "Was your zebra sense a-tinglin'?"
"She ain't Spider-Man, Applejack," I said, but of course nobody understood what I just said.
"My 'zebra sense' did not bring me round, it was a special flower that I needed found," Zecora explained. "I thought I picked enough to fix all the potions I had to mix, but after my visit from Ash Heart and Apple Bloom, some had mysteriously left my room." So that girl DID sneak back into Zecora's place, that little rascal!
"Apple Bloom!" I called out to the yellow filly who was currently lifting weights with her tail. "Is there something you're not telling us?"
"I, um..." But before AB could even finish, another Cutie Mark appeared on her, forcing her to go around and start cleaning the windows of every building around. Looking closely, I could see the ponies inside donning hazmat suits. Geez, it's not like she's contagious people. At least...I don't think she is...
"Zecora! I don't think Apple Bloom's gonna be speaking up anytime soon," I said, turning to the zebra. "Do you have a cure for her?"
"A cutie pox cure I have forsooth, for healing power is in the Seeds of Truth," Rhyming like always, Zecroa used her tail to pull out a couple of bright-colored seeds.
"Well, well then give 'em to her! Quick!" AJ pleaded.
"These seeds must be planted in the ground. With the truth, they'll grow, and the cure is found." Zecora said, but...
"Come again?" Nopony understood what she said.
"The Seeds of Truth do hold the cure, but one must speak words, true and pure."
"Basically, in order for the seeds to grow, we need to speak the truth," I dumbed it down for everyone here.
"Well then let's get to it!" AJ said, snatching the seeds from Zecora, dug up the ground and quickly planted them. "Alright, they're planted, now somepony tell the truth!" Coming from the Pony of Honesty, that's not something anyone can just ignore.
Unfortunately, it seems everypony decided to be spineless today as no one spoke up. It soon got worse when another mark appeared on AB and she was soon turned into a spinning tornado much like the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes.
"Somepony! Anypony!" AJ pleaded with everyone listening, but they all still kept their distance. Cowards.
"Yesterday," Suddenly, like the good friend that she is, Pinkie Pie spoke up. Now, what does she have to say? "I told Mrs. Cake that I ate two corn cakes, but I really ate three!"
Looking down to see the buried seeds...no dice.
"Pinkie!" I called out the pink pony.
"Okay, six! I ate six corn cakes!" Looking down again...still no dice. Looking back up the pink Earth Pony, she soon cried. "Make it stop! Oh, make it stop!" Okay, well, somepony can't seem to handle the pressure today.
"Um, Ash?" In desperation, AJ turned to me.
I pointed at myself. "What, you want me to speak the truth? I got nothing to hide."
"Well, what about you-know-what?" You-know-what? Wait, you mean my secret about me being human?
"Are you crazy? We're surrounded!" I said, gesturing to the ponies around us keeping their distance.
"Look at her!" AJ points over to AB who was still spinning and seemed to be on the verge of throwing up form the sounds of it. "She needs help!"
"Okay, okay!" I said, relenting, but I still wasn't about to blurt out my secret. So maybe something else...
"I think Twilight's really cute," I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Eep!" In a flash Twilight's whole face turned red.
"Now's not the time to be flirting!" AJ exclaims angrily. "Speak the truth!"
"I was speaking the truth!" I shot back as Twilight turns brighter than a tomato. Was the unicorn always this weak to compliments? And is that steam coming out of her ears?
"I can't stand it anymore!" Suddenly, AB speaks up. "It's me! I admit it! I didn't earn my cutie mark! They're all fake!" As if a switch was flipped, AB stopped spinning, but soon resumed tap-dancing. Looking back down, there was movement but still no flower.
"Go on," I egged on the pony to continue.
"I figured the Heart's Desire would help me get what I wanted most! So I sneaked into Zecora's hut while she was out, and I mixed up a special potion and put the rest of the Heart's Desire in it!"
And the truth comes out! Both literally and figuratively as from the ground where the Seeds of Truth were planted sprouted quite the beautiful looking flower that got ponies looking on in awe.
*CHOMP!*
Not even a second later did AB jump in and chomped down on the beautiful looking plant, devouring it in a single gulp. Soon after did all the Cutie Marks decorating her body begin to disappear one after another until the filly was mark free.
"Feeling better?" I asked AB, walking up to her.
"Much better," Said the young filly, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Apple Bloom!" Suddenly, appearing from the around the corner were both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, both running over to us.
"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked.
"I'm great, and I've never been happier to be a blank flank."
"But..." I trailed on, egging the filly on to continue.
"But I'm awful sorry I lied, 'specially to you guys," AB apologized, looking down in shame. "I was so desperate for my cutie mark, I just got carried away." She then walked over to Zecora. "And I'm really sorry I snuck those flowers from you, Zecora. Why I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted me to come by again."
"Now, Apple Bloom, do not be silly. You are always welcome, my little filly," Zecora said, rhyming all the while. "With each mistake you learn something new, growing up into a better you."
"She's right," I said. "Now you know not to do something like this again."
"Yeah," AB nodded in agreement before looking nervous at me. "And...I'm sorry, Ash."
"Hm? What for?"
"For not listening to you when you said not to use the Heart's Desire," Ah, she was talking about yesterday. "You warned me and everything, but I just got mad and took it out on you. I'm really sorry."
In the face of such an honest apology, I awkwardly rubbing the back of my head as I addressed the filly.
"Hey, it's fine. I understand why you were so hasty today compared to all the other times you and the girls have been when trying to get your Cutie Marks. It probably didn't help when I got my Mark. But," AB looked up at me for this part. "You have to remember that I was a Blank Flank like you before I came here. And I'm you're leader. Reluctant as I maybe sometimes, it's my job to look after you and the others. So...don't worry about it, okay?"
"...okay," AB said after a moment of silence, smiling.
Smiling, I looked up to Zecora to give her my own apology only to jump in surprise when she was no longer there.
"Where'd she go!?" I said in alarm, causing everypony to notice that the zebra was no longer here. Seriously, how'd she do that!? She Batman? I wanner learn how to do that too!
"I'm sure we'll see her soon enough," Twilight said before looking over to AB. "Apple Bloom, would you mind writing to Princess Celestia and telling her what you've learned?" Oh, is it time to wrap up the episode already?
"I'd be happy to, Twilight!" AB said before calling out to, "Spike?"
"Ready!" In a flash, Spike appeared with pen and paper in hand.
"Dear Princess Celestia, waiting for what your heart desires can be really hard. So, you may try to take a shortcut. But this dishonesty never works, because you didn't earn what your heart desired. The only cure is being honest with yourself and others. And that's something every heart desires."
Writing down those last words, Spike rolled up the paper and set it aflame, sending it off to the castle.
"I sure am proud of you, sis," AJ said, walking up to her little sister with a proud smile. "Seems like you finally learned the importance of patience."
"Yup! All good things come to those who wait."
"Wait for it..." I said, knowing what was about to happen.
"...Well! I've waited long enough."
"There it is," I said as both AJ and Twilight looked flabbergasted.
"Actually, that was way too long,' Scootaloo said as she and the other CMC ran off.
"What?!" AJ exclaims in astonishment.
"So what are we gonna do today to earn our cutie marks?" AB asked her friends.
"Well, I was thinking, for a pony who's never mixed up a potion before, you sure stirred up something fierce." Don't get any ideas now Scootaloo.
"Yeah! So what if your talent is potion-making?" Sweetie suggested.
"Oh my gosh, totally! Let's go talk to Zecora, now!"
"Yeah!"
"Woo-hoo!"
"And...there they go," I said, chuckling at the expression AJ and Twilight were both making. Ah, kids, what can you do?
"Uh, Ash?" Both Twilight and AJ looked over at me uncertainly.
"Don't worry, I got them," I said before running after the CMC. It's times like these I feel less like a leader and more like a babysitter to those three. "Hey, girls! Don't forget about your leader!"
And so began another day with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I'll never admit it out loud, but looking after these kids has it's charm. Just wish they lay off the dangerous stunts every now and then.
*Comes Out of Portal* Finally! Geez, I can't believe it took this long. So sorry once again for being so late with this chapter. I had trouble working up the motivation for this so the quality of this chapter is a bit weak in the beginning, but I think it still came out well enough for it to be enjoyable. None of the OC's appeared today, but hey, some of the Mane 6 don't appear in other episodes so I think I can get away with not showing them from time to time. But don't worry, because next time, they'll be back along with a brand new friend! Until then, this has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing out. And like always *dusts off knuckle* here comes the brohoof.
*Incoming Brohoof*
See you readers next time!