Post #'s: >>36355808
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>Up.
>Down.
>Up.
>Down.
>The figure’s chest raised and lowered as it laid on a bed, kept warm beneath the pale, white covers as a bag filled with a clear liquid dripped its contents into its arm.
>Outside, the crickets chirped in a steady rhythm while the gentle glow of the moon snaked its way through the curtains into the room.
>The figure’s eyelids fluttered open.
>Groaning, it sat up and rubbed its eyes before looking around.
>Besides the cream colored walls, all that accompanied them was a nightstand holding a glass of water, a stack of magazines, a vase filled with an assortment of flowers and a plate of cookies.
>Its stomach growled, and so it rolled onto its side to have its fill, slamming each sugary disk down its gaping maw and flooding it with water.
>Sighing, it snatched the first magazine and sat up in bed.
>On the cover, ‘Noniventures’ was plastered at the top with a big green question mark in the center.
>Confusion flooded their face, and as they flipped the page, their vision was drawn to a stylized picture of themselves falling from the sky.
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>”How about gardening?”
>”No Apple Bloom, we already tried that.”
>”But Sweetie, we didn’t do it with flowers yet, just carrots!” turning to her friend, Apple Bloom’s eyes pleaded to them, “C’mon Scoots, help me out here.”
>”I mean, yeah it’s different, but it’s kinda the same, too.” Rolling off the bed, Scootaloo waved a hoof in the air reaching for any passing idea. “We could try... uh, never mind.”
>Collectively, all three fillies sighed as the night trudged on outside.
>”We ain’t never gonna get our cutie marks!”
>”Don’t say that Bloom,” Sweetie Belle whispered, crawling over the covers and resting a hoof over her withers, “we’ll get them, I’m sure of it.”
>”B-But we tried for m-months,” Bloom whimpered, wiping away the stream of never-ending tears from her face, “if it ain’t happened now, it ain’t never gonna happen.”
>Sweetie’s eyes wandered around the room, only to rest on Scootaloo and harden.
>Rolling her eyes, Scootaloo pushed herself off the ground and hopped on the bed beside Bloom.
>”That’s not true, and you know that. Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow all have their cutie marks,” she reasoned, tapping her hoof to each name, “and if they got theirs, we’ll get ours too.”
>”Yeah, we just have to keep trying.”
>”Thanks girls,” Bloom said with a sniffle before jumping up, her mouth open wide, “that’s it!”
>”What’s it?” Sweetie questioned.
>Leaping off the bed, Bloom danced a jig, her legs rapidly pounding against the wooden floor.
>”Ya remember when we asked Twilight if we could borrow that book?”
>”Uh, yeah?” Scootaloo answered.
>”That’s just it! We’ll get our cutie marks in astrology!”
>”Wait, isn’t it called ‘astronomy?’”
>”No, it’s ‘astronology.’”
>”Is not,” Sweetie retorted.
>”Is too.”
>”Girls,” Bloom yelled, gaining their attention, “it don’t matter what it’s called if we get our cutie marks in it. Now come on!”
>Running to the corner of the room, the three rolled a makeshift telescope up to the window, knocking over stacked books and papers ridden with red ink to the floor.
>”Point it out the window. Point it out.”
>”I’m trying,” Sweetie grunted, swinging the scope up, “lock it Bloom.”
>”On it!”
>Kicking the the wheel locks down, the telescope squeaked and tilted to the side as Sweetie slipped off the barrel and collided with the floor.
>”Ow,” she moaned, gently rubbing her flank, “you could’ve warned me first.”
>”Sorry,” Bloom sheepishly said lowering her head.

>”So, you girls ready to get your cutie marks?”
>Bloom and Sweetie giggled as they sat by Scootaloo.
>Flipping the pages, the three studied each diagram, trailing their hooves along the lines and muttering the constellations’ names before staring through the telescope.
>”Canis major... that kinda looks like Winona.”
>”Let me see,” Scootaloo yelled, bumping Bloom off of the stool.
>”Hey!”
>”I’m not seeing anything that looks like a dog.”
>”You’re probably looking in the wrong spot.”
>”Am not.”
>”Are too.”
>Rising from the floor, Apple Bloom shook her head at the two’s bickering and trotted towards the book.
>Lowering herself, she blew from her face a strand of her mane and flipped the book back to the beginning.
>Scanning the different sections of the guide, confusion flooded her face when her eyes glossed over ‘Events.’
>Between the low hum of the crickets outside and her friends arguing, she pawed through the pages, quickly reading each line when her eyes became the size of the moon.
>”Girls-”
>”No, the stars line up like-quit moving it!”
>”I’m telling you. I’m. Not. Seeing. It.”
>”Girls!”
>The room fell to silence, and as the critters of the night resumed their song, Bloom cleared her throat.
>”Tonight’s supposed to have a shooting star.”
>”What?”
>”Ya heard me, there’s gonna be a shooting star.”
>”What’s it called?” Sweetie asked.
>”It’s called, um,” Bloom muttered to herself, glancing at the book, “Swirl’s Comet,” she proudly stated, raising her head triumphantly.
>”Is that it?”
>Following Scootaloo’s hoof, Bloom and Sweetie watched as a bright, shimmering streak flew across the night sky.
>”That’s so cool...” Scootaloo gasped, covering her mouth as her wings fluttered.
>”Ooh, did I get mah cutie mark yet?” Bloom squealed, chasing her rump in the dimly lit room.
>”Hey, why is it getting closer? And why is it getting louder?”
>”What do you mean Sweet-” Scootaloo cut herself off, her eyes opening in horror.
>”Duck and cover!”
>Diving to the floor, Sweetie slammed her hooves against her mane as the others followed suit.
>A sharp, high pitched whine sailed overhead, deafening the fillies screams until a thunderous boom sounded from far away.

>”What the hay was that?” Bloom screamed, shakily rising from the ground.
>”Are shooting stars supposed to do that?”
>”I don’t think so,” Scootaloo answered Sweetie, “maybe we should check it out.”
>”Are ya sure that’s a good idea?”
>”Not really,” she said, rubbing a hoof along her foreleg, “but this could be what gets us our cutie marks.”
>Glimpsing at one another, they bolted towards the door with Scootaloo snatching her scooter.
>”Last one there gets their cutie mark last!”
>Sailing ahead of her friends, she turned back and blew them a raspberry.
>The other two galloped towards the Everfree Forest, sweat soaking into their manes as their muscles ached with every hoof slamming against the dirt.
>As they drew closer to the treeline, a pillar of smoke rose from the foliage of the treetops with Scootaloo nowhere in sight.
>”Scootaloo!” the two belted out, “where are you?”
>Tentatively, they trotted deeper into the forest, the marshy ground caking their hooves in mud as they caught their breath.
>”Where could she be?”
>”How am I suppose ta know?”
>”It was a rhetorical question.”
>”What’s ‘rheto-rical?’”
>”I dunno, I just said it because Rarity does.”
>”Ah, gotcha.”
>A wave of nausea hit them both as a repugnant stench forced its way up their noses.
>”Sweet Celestia, that’s horrible.”
>”This has got ta be worse than our pig pens.”
>Plodding onwards gagging, they breached into a clearing and off in the distance they saw a tiny figure.
>They continued marching, drawing nearer to the figure, their vision eventually revealing a purple mane.
>”Scootaloo, why’d ya go off like that?”
>”Yeah Scoots, you should’ve waited for us.”

 >Scootaloo remained frozen with shock, and as the other two flanked her sides, they gawked at the form lying within the smoking crater.
>Curled into a misshapen ball was a creature larger than the three of them combined, its lanky limbs extending far from its body.
>”Is that... a suit?”
>Sweetie slid into the crater and approached the thing closer, prodding her hoof against the velvety, tattered fabric adorning it.
>”Sweetie, get away from it!” Apple Bloom hissed.
>”Yeah, it could be dangerous.”
>Retreating from the mysterious beast, Sweetie leapt from the warm earth and latched onto her friends hooves, climbing out of the crater.
>”That was a suit, girls.”
>”Why would that,” Scootaloo questioned, pointing a hoof in its direction, “be wearing a suit?”
>”I don’t know, why are you asking me?”
>”We could ask it.”
>Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom, viewing her with shock.
>”Are you crazy?”
>”What? We just wake it up and ask ‘em what for.”
>”Yeah,” Sweetie retorted, gesturing to a nearby stick, “and we’ll poke it to wake it up. I’m sure it won’t be mad.”
>Apple Bloom returned her glare with a smile and a nod.
>Sighing, Sweetie levitated the stick and brought it closer to the creature.
>”Don’t say I didn’t do nothing for you.”
>Sucking in her breath, she pulled the stick back when the being gasped for air.
>Dropping the stick, she tumbled backwards while her friends stood with shaking legs, their ears folded behind their heads.
>Coming to life, the thing planted its arms onto the ground, pushing itself up, only to collapse with an audible thud.
>It groaned, trying again before it vomited into a murky pool of brown sludge.
>”What in tarnation-get behind me girls!”
>Caught within another world, the three continued to gaze at the figure in front of them until something picked them up by the scruff of their necks, flinging them away.
>”Fluttershy, have you seen something like this?”
>”No Twilight, I-”
>”I-I can’t see,” the creature announced, waving its hands in front of its eyes, “I can’t see!”
>”It can talk?” Rainbow Dash yelled out.
>”Oh god, no no no!”
>”Sir, everything’s going to be okay.”
>”Who’s there?” the being called out.
>”I’m Twilight, now calm down. You’ll be ok.”
>Sinking to the ground, its harsh breathing slowed slowed to an occasional puff.
>”What’s your name?”
>”A-Anon.”
>”Hi Anon, we’re here to help you, ok?”
>As Twilight helped Anon up, Applejack nudged the fillies away.
>”You girls go on ahead and head back now, I’ll be there soon.”
>”But-”
>”No ‘buts’ Bloom,” she sternly scolded, “now git.”
>Hanging their heads to the ground, they ambled their way back to the tree house silently.
>Sitting in a circle, they sat waiting as the air grew heavier.
>”We din’t do nothing wrong, right?”
>”I hope so.”
>”Yeah,” said Scootaloo as Apple Bloom raised a hoof to her mouth pensively.
>”Hey, what was that feller’s name?”
>”An-hon.”
>”No Scootaloo, I think it was An-on,” Sweetie Belle stated, “why?”
>”This ‘Anon’ feller ain’t from around here.”
>”Nice one Bloom, got any other awesome observations?”
>”Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom sighed, glancing towards her, “I’m thinking we should figure out why.”
>”Aren’t our sisters already doing that?”
>”Well, yeah... but that don’t mean we can’t help, can’t we?”
>Slowly, the realization dawned on them as their mouths opened in unison.
>”This maybe our chance.”
>”Ta get our cutie marks.”
>”Once and for all!”
>Bouncing off the floor, they almost started prancing around the room when their tree house door slammed against the wall.
>”Like hay ya are!”
>Striding into the room, Applejack beat her hoof on a nearby table.
>”If I catch any of y’all patronizing that poor stallion, I swear to Celestia, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Ya understand?”
>”Yes Applejack,” they collectively mewled.
>”Good,” she happily replied, leaving the room.
>”Wait, we aren’t in trouble?”
>”Uh, no. Why would ya be?”
>”N-Nothing!” Apple Bloom hastily answered.
>”Uh huh,” she nodded, squinting her eyes, “y’all stay outta trouble now.”
>When she left, the three convened in the center with hushed chants, placing their hooves on top of one another.
>”We’re the cutie mark crusaders and crusading’s what we do. Whatever is the challenge, we will do it, yes it’s true. We’ll do any jo-ob even if it’s in the dark ‘cause we’re the cutie mark crusaders and we’ll get our cutie marks!”