Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony; Friendship Is Magic
Title: Through The Shadow's Of Boredom The Past Can Emerge
Summary: During their late teens, the Cutie Mark Crusaders fled from Ponyville in the middle of the night to escape their problems. Now adults, the trio rebuilt their lives in a deadbeat town, juggling work, their social lives (or lack thereof) and raising a young filly. The past, however, has a way of creeping back in ways someone least expects it to.
Warnings: The first chapter to be from just Dawn's perspective! =)
Chapter Title: Cutie Mark Fail (A Day In The Life Of Dawn)
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supersexyghotmew95- You know, when I read this review, the first thought that popped into my mind is; you know, this wasn't going to be a silly fanfic, Mandaree1. But then you got all cute and dorky on this thing, and look what happened?
Not gonna lie, this wasn't going to be a happy ending story at first. It was supposed to be about the pain and loneliness the CMC were feeling from leaving home and how they struggled through their day to raise Dawn. But then I branched it out into a multi-chapter universe, and now it's a sorta-cliche 'getting the family back together' 'fic. I'm not entirely sure if that's a bad thing or not.
And, yes, Granny Smith is immortal. I mean, it's practically canon. =)
Guest (April 15)- Sorry, Angel isn't dead. I'm of the firm opinion that she, like Granny Smith, is immortal. Only she's immortal because of all the anger and hatred pent up inside that little furry body. =)
And everypony knows they're alive, but Discord was the only one who knew where they went. And, yeah, Fluttershy is not pleased.
...
Dawn stumbled out of Sugarcube corner; mane and body positively coated with baking flour and sugar. Confetti clung to the sticky mess, tangling in her hooves and tripping her. She landed on her back with a soft oomph and waved up at the doorway.
"Goodbye, Ms. Pinkie Pie! Thanks for the lesson!"
The door clicked shut. The sounds of a party were still echoing from within, but Dawn needed to find her parent and aunts before dark so they wouldn't get worried. Unfortunately, the sugar seemed to have glued her to the ground, so she was a tad stuck.
She pulled and pushed and grunted and groaned. Everything and anything her sugar-coated brain could come up with. Nothing worked. She was just considering the pros and cons of eating her way out when a large hoof prodded her shoulder.
"Ya'll right there, youngin'?"
"'M stuck." She grunted, waving her hooves helplessly. They were starting to harden. "Help me? Please?"
"Eeyup." The large red stallion easily pulled her out of the mess with his strong hooves. "There ya' go." He grunted, wiping the excess on his hooves into the dirt.
"Thank you." Dawn paused. "You sound like Aunt Applebloom and Aunt Applejack."
The stallion eyed her dubiously a long moment to gauge if she was telling the truth or not, then nodded his big head. "Them's mah sisters. Ah'm Big Mac."
"So you're my Uncle, then?"
He blinked at her. "If yer tellin' the truth, then Eeyup."
"Do you know where I can find my Aunts now?"
"Eeyup." He nodded.
"Could you take me to them, please? Mom's probably starting to worry."
Another nod. "Eeyup. But first thing's first." He lifted her up onto his burly back. "Ya'll need a bath, or we ain't gonna get nowhere."
Big Mac didn't say a whole lot on the way back, but Dawn was under the impression that that was nothing out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, Dawn found herself really enjoying the stallion's company. He was like a cuddly moving wall; quiet and protective, but not overwhelming.
Granny Smith, who had been watching the road from her rocking chair, met them at the door and cackled at the cake-covered filly. "Now ain't this a familiar sight."
"Eeyup."
"Why, it seems like jus' yesturday it was yer Aunt comin' home covered in gunk. Lemme guess... Pinkie Pie's party crash course?"
Dawn perked up. "Yeah! How did you know?"
"'Cause I remember the mess." Granny nodded. "Welcome to the farm, youngin'! Ah'm yer Great-Granny Smith, but you can call me Great Granny."
"Okay, Great Granny!" Dawn attempted to flutter her wings in excitement, only to realize that the junk food covering them was beginning to harden as well. "Uh, miss Great Granny? Could I go take a bath?"
"A 'course, youngin'. C'mere." The old mare grabbed her off the stallion's back with a strong but gentle hoof and propped her up on her own. "Right this way to the bathroom, littlun. Wouldn't wanna get cake all over the freshly cleaned floor."
"Nnope." A pause. "Ah'm gonna hit the hay, Granny. Most 'a the cake stayed on my niece there."
"Alrighty then. G'night." She waved a wrinkled hoof.
"Goodnight, Uncle Mac!"
Big Mac smiled at the sentiment and rumbled down the hall.
Dawn watched him go. "Uncle Mac is a big pony." She blurted eventually, unsure of what to say.
Granny Smith laughed. "That he is, youngin'. It's an earth pony thing. Jus' look at yer Aunt Applebloom and yer Aunt Scootaloo."
"But... Aunt Scoot's is-"
"A pegasus with a good set of earth pony genes floatin' 'round her family lines. She'll tell ya' the same thing- if ya' ask her, that is."
Granny set Dawn on the counter next to the sink while she ran the hot water and filled up the tub. She tossed in some soap to make bubbles and nodded at her work.
"This'll do just fine. Hop on in, littlun. The water'll do wonders for achin' limbs."
Dawn personally didn't have any aching limbs at the moment, but she didn't think it would be wise to say so. The water did wonders for the clumps of flour sticking to her body, and the gentle lull of the bathwater made her feel sleepy.
Granny Smith popped the cap off her bottle of mane wash. "Alrighty. Let's get this gunk off, then."
Dawn stepped out of the bath smelling like a freshly baked cinnamon pie. A quick towel dry left her looking like a puff ball on legs. Even still, it was a heck of a lot better than being covered in cake.
"Granny?" Applejack's voice called from downstairs. A door slammed shut. "You still awake?"
"Yup! Ah'm puttin' the finishin' touches on my little great-grand fillies mane."
The relief in Applejack's voice was palatable, much like the cake gunk Dawn had splattered all over herself. "Ah. Good. Her mother was startin' to worry 'bout where she'd gotten herself to."
The stairs creaked and clunked under Applejack' hooves. She kicked open the bathroom door with a grin. "Howdy, Dawn. How'd the lesson go?"
"'Bout as well as it did with Applebloom." Granny Smith grunted, smoothing her fur out as best she could with just a hoof. "Applejack, go get the brushes. Ya'll can help me tame this mane."
"Alrighty then. Ah'll be right back."
It took almost twenty minutes of tugging and pulling to smooth Dawn's fur out. She did her wings by herself, resolving to ask Scootaloo for help with the more difficult feathers later.
Granny sat back with a smug grin. "There ya' go. Fit as a fiddle. Hmm..." She examined her clean great-grand filly for the first time. "Don't take after yer momma as much as yer daddy, do ya'? That's okay; for what it is worth, he was a mighty pretty stallion."
Dawn shrugged, then, as though remembering how she came to be covered in different kinds of food and streamers in the first place, she glanced at her flank excitedly, then soured. "Rats." Still blank.
Applejack chuckled. "Don't you worry now. It all happens to us eventually."
"Yeah, but I'm the only filly in my class that doesn't have her cutie mark." Dawn sighed. "Mom keeps saying not to worry about it, but it's hard not to when everypony keeps talking about it."
"Hmm..." The earth mare said. "Lemme show ya' somethin' real quick 'fore you go. Ah think you'll like it." She picked the filly up, set her on her back, then looked at the green mare. "Granny, you comin'?"
She waved her hoof. "Nah. Ah'm startin' to run low on juice. Ah think Ah'll just hit the hay."
"Alright then. G'night, Granny."
"Good night!" Dawn waved goodbye. "Thanks for the bath!"
"T'weren't nothin', youngin'. Just a bit 'a earth pony hospitality."
Applejack carried her across the lawn like she was made of air, trotting with her head held high and humming an idle tune. Dawn is suddenly hit by the impression that her mother and aunts gave all of this up. Gave away the kindness and the pretty accents and the strong backs to ride on. And for what?
For what indeed. She'd just have to ask them once she got back.
"Here we are, Dawn." Applejack sat back so Dawn could climb off. "Take a good look."
Dawn blinked at the old clubhouse. The windows were hanging on rusty hinges and the flower box's flowers had withered. It reminded her of those little antique dollhouses. "What is this place?"
"This here is the clubhouse yer mom and aunts used when they were fillies. Come'on in. Ah think you'll like it."
Applejack opened the door (the others had closed it once they left, but made sure it didn't stick) and turned on the lantern. "There we go. Looks like they've already been through here. Ya' see, when yer mom and aunt were fillies, they made a 'secret' club. Called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They'd come here and think of ideas, or hang out, or just get away from it all for a little while."
Dawn grabbed the picture frame on the tabletop and pulled it closer. Applejack nodded and wiped some of the remaining dust away with an orange hoof.
"This is them back 'fore they got their cutie marks. They've been inseparable ever since they were tiny."
The farmer popped open the chest in the corner and dug through the contents. "Hold on a sec. That's a really old photo. There's a better one in here- aha." She pulled it out. "Here we go. Come take a look at this."
Scootaloo was on the far right, stopped mid-word, tiny wings buzzing with excitement (she hadn't gotten that quirk all by herself, you know). She looked happy and energetic, much different from the mostly calm and collected mare she knew today. Sweetie Belle was rolled her eyes farther to the left, a laughing Applebloom wedged between them. On the far left, a filly Dawn didn't recognize was blowing her short red mane out of her face, looking amused and self-conscious all at once. Her tail was firmly clamped to her side. All of them, from what she could make out, were blank flanks.
"Who's that one?" She pointed at the red-maned mare.
"That's Babs Seed, me and Applebloom's cousin. She runs a public CMC clubhouse in Manehatten; just loves to help fillies find themselves. Still does that tail thing, from what Ah've heard, even with her cutie mark. Same with the mane blowin'. Force of habit, Ah guess."
"Will I ever get to meet her?"
"If Applebloom and Babs have their way, you sure will. She's a nice mare, if a tad awkward. You'll like 'er." She cleared her throat and set the photo down. "Yer mother and the rest didn't get their cutie marks 'till they were almost outta school."
Dawn's eyes bugged out of her head. "That long?"
She nodded. "That long. But they never let that stop 'em from doin' what they loved, even if they didn't realize it."
"I mean, they've always seemed to be really good at what they do, and I can't even imagine them without their cutie marks." She slouched. "Do you think I'll ever get my cutie mark?"
Applejack sat down next to her and swung a hoof around her shoulders. "Ah think you'll find a way to do what you love, no matter what yer cutie mark ends up bein'."
Dawn leaned against the strong mare and wondered, not for the first time since they'd reached Ponyville, how they could let this go.
"Aunt Applejack?"
"Yup?"
"Why... Why did mom leave all this," She waved her hooves to indicate the clubhouse. "Just to go live in the middle of nowhere?"
Applejack paused, thought about it, then shrugged. "Ah don't rightly know, Dawn. You'll jus' have to ask 'er yourself."
Author's Note: I know that Babs already got her cutie mark in the show (although I'm not entirely sure if it's been mentioned yet) but it's pretty obvious at this point that this is a bit of an AU, so in this story her cutie mark is geared towards nurturing and helping other fillies to find their true talents.
Random Fact Of The Day: The CMC is an actual business. Babs runs it herself (although she's always making sure ponies recognize that it wasn't her creation originally) and they have clubhouses in places like Manehatten and Canterlot, where blank flanks are in large numbers and are largely bullied. It's a place fillies and colts can go to talk about their problems and explore themselves, cutie mark or no. It's more or less the anti-bullying judgement free zone things we have here, only the goal is a tad more realistic and achievable in a world of optimistic candy colored ponies. =)
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