Cutie Mark debacle.

// This chapter came out of nowhere when I was thinking how to tackle the Cutie pox episode... I ended up completely avoiding the problem all together and making This...Well to be honest I was surprised when I ended up with over 2k words as not much really happened but I hope that at least I made a pretty nice explanation on Cutie Marks...which was not the first one in this fic, yes I know, but it just fit very well in this situation...

But anyway, I hope you like it and like always EEEENJOY!!

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Going back upstairs, Starfall couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right...

It didn't took him long to find the reason...

"Uhh...Spike?...Apple Bloom? Is something wrong?" He asked upon finding the two children sitting on the sofa with Spike visibly trying to cheer up a tearful filly...

"Oh! Dad!...It's...Well..." Spike looked at Apple Bloom who in turn looked at Starfall sadly but with a hint of hope.

"Mr Starfall! You...You need to help me get my cutie mark!" She cried out in desperation to Starfall's bemusement.

"Huh? What brought this on Bloom? Why are you so troubled about it?" He asked already having an idea but wanting to confirm.

"Well...We were just havin' fun at the bowlin' alley...And well...We weren't very good at it and..."She started before Spike finished for her.

"There was that Colt who got his Cutie Mark in bowling, and I believe Apple Bloom didn't took it well..."He explained, and Starfall understood.

"I see. So you were all trying so hard and didn't get a mark when he got one without even trying?" He asked and Apple Bloom nodded sadly.

"Please. Can you help me? You're the smartest pony beside Twilight i know..." She asked with hope in her eyes.

Starfall sighed and sat beside Apple Bloom.

"Listen Apple Bloom...Cutie Mark's are not something you can just 'give' someone...well... technically you could steal one from another pony...but I'm sure it's not what you are looking for." At her shaking head he smiled and continued.

"Cutie Marks are ancient magic. Just like Windigos and Timberwolves. You need to understand that it's a form of magic that was created naturally over millennia, and trying to manipulate it is not just extremely difficult but also misses the point of a Cutie Mark. You understand what I'm saying?" He asked at Apple Bloom's confused expression.

"I...I'm not sure..." She said eliciting a sigh from Starfall.

"What I mean is...Cutie Mark, is something you get upon realising what you're inherently good at. It's an Ancient Magical Construct associated with Ponies and Zebras, that represents your own personal talent, and has the capability of aiding said talent using your own magic. Even if you created a Cutie Mark, which I don't believe to be impossible, If it doesn't represent your own talent, it wouldn't even showcase half the capabilities of a natural Cutie Mark. It would be just an imitation, and could be potentially dangerous for a plethora of reasons..." Starfall explained as Apple Bloom listened to him with rapt attention. No one ever explained to her so much in details about how Cutie Mark's worked.

"So... what does it it mean for us? Why is it so hard for us to find our Cutie Marks?" She asked finally.

Starfall smiled.

"If I were to guess, I'd say It means that your talents are something truly amazing or you're missing something very simple."He winked."But there something you need to remember Apple Bloom..." He added to which he looked at him curiously. Her previous sadness almost forgotten.

"What is it?" She asked.

"You're focusing so much on finding that Mark on your butt...And you forgot just how much fun you four are having just looking for them and trying all those different things. Sometimes I envy you." He explained to Apple Bloom's surprise.

"You envy us?! But Why!?" She asked Causing Starfall to grin for basically stealing Twilight's quote...(Which author doesn't remember very well so he improvised...)

"Because you are having so much fun discovering your talents. There's a world of possibilities out there for you, and even if you find that special talent, I hope you keep looking for more..."He explained hugging Apple Bloom who giggled while Spike made a small mock pout on the side to Starfall's amusement, who promptly pulled Spike into the hug as well...

"Hey! Dad stop!" He screamed as Starfall continued to hug the two without mercy.

Suddenly a familiar voice resounded through the Library.

"We'll Blimey Apple Bloom! There You are! I was gettin' Worried when ya didn't come back fer supper!" Applejack said walking into the living room.

"Sister!" Called out Apple Bloom a bit surprised.

"Applejack! Save me!" Added Spike to everyone's amusement.

Starfall let go of the kids and stood up to greet her.

"Ah Applejack! I didn't expect to see you today." He said giving her a quick welcome peck on the lips. " Not that I'm unhappy of course." He added with a smile.

"Ah was just looking fer my little sister and Ah got a tip from her friends that she was sad and went home with Spike, so Ah came to check up on her. But Ah can see that she's alright now." She added looking at Apple Bloom who seemed to be in a much better mood than when she first walked into the library.

"Well...She was a bit down about still having no Cutie Mark but I explained to her many thing about how the Cutie Mark's worked and it seemed to calm her down."He said with a smile.

"Ah see. I'm happy you took such good care of my sister. It speaks good of you Sugarcube." She licked her lips seductively, most likely thinking about making some foals from how her earlier words sounded...

Spike and Apple Bloom watched the exchange with a bit of disgust...They themselves might be dating eachother, but the other two are still their parent figures and it's supposed to be repulsive for them by principle...

"Jeez, get a room you two!" Spike said finally getting an amused look from Starfall.

"Why? So that you two had this room to yourselves?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, causing the two children's cheek to redden...

"N-No! That's not what I meant!" He tried to defend himself while Apple Bloom tried to sink into the sofa from being embarrassed in front of her sister...

"Alright, Alright. I'm just joking. By the way. Apple Bloom. Since your sister is here. Do you want to see how it is to have a cutie mark?" He asked, prompting Apple Bloom to look at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah. What do you mean Sugarcube?" Asked Applejack a bit worried.

"Oh well... I have a spell that could allow me to strip somepony's Cutie Mark and temporarily place it on somepony else. I was curious I'm you'd like to try it out..." He asked getting an excited look from Apple Bloom and a worried look From her sister.

"Is it safe?" Applejack asked to which Starfall smiled and replied.

"Of course it is! I'd be the one who'd be overseeing everything and this little magic should be of no trouble for me." He reassured her before looking at Apple Bloom.

"But I'd do it only if you promise me that you won't try anything irresponsible like drinking a weird potion to get your Cutie Mark. I don't want to hear that you reinvented the method of getting infected by Cutie Pox or something equally dangerous..." He said to the fully who nodded her head rapidly.

"I promise! I won't try to cheat and I'd do my best in looking for my special talent the way I am supposed to!" Apple Bloom promised.

"Alright then." Starfall smiled and looked at Applejack who just rolled her eyes and turned her flank towards him.

A bit of magic later and everyone watched in fascination how Applejack's Cutie Mark got separated from her flank and replaced with a grey "equal" mark.

The Cutie Mark was then placed on the flank of Apple Bloom and Starfall was unsurprised when her magic wanted to reject it. Even if he knew that her talent was partially connected with apples, It was not the true essence of her talent and to tell the true, she already had a Cutie Mark albeit not yet a visible one as it had yet to form into its final form.

He needed to cast a few spells to keep the mark from ripping off as soon as he let go of it, and some so that it still worked as a Cutie Mark for Apple Bloom.

When he was done, he let go of his magic and looked at the mares.

"The mark will return to Applejack after about two hours, so I guess you have all this time to enjoy the feeling of being better at doing your house chores." He smirked at Apple Bloom who looked at Starfall in excitement despite his stupid joke.

"And remember. This is barely a fraction of how much your own Cutie Mark could do, and even having a Cutie Mark, it doesn't mean you cannot get better in other things...A Cutie Mark is just a nice bonus we Ponies can enjoy. Now go out there and have fun because I ain't doing that again." He said sending an excited Apple Bloom out of the house, shortly followed by an amused although slightly uncomfortable Applejack.

"And you're sure it's goin' to return tah me after two hours?" She asked for the last time and Starfall smiled.

"Of course. This is Ancient Magic Applejack. it doesn't want to be changed, and would have returned to normal on its own even if I didn't put a timer on the bindings...Also consider it a training Love. You can see how much your Cutie Mark helped you in your daily life and try to do it all without relying on the boost it provided. I can tell you right now that you'll have a lot of trouble doing even simple things around your farm." He finished with a grin.

Applejack Scoffed.

"As if ah needed mah Cutie Mark to take care of the Orchard! You'll see that ah can work well even without it!" She said standing up ready to leave after Apple Bloom to Starfall's amusement.

"Don't say I didn't warn You! It needs getting used to, but can really help you get even better in your special talent if you can take advantage of the situation." He called behind her getting a confident smile from Applejack.

"You'll see Sugarcube!" She called for the last time before closing the doors...

"..."

"..."

"...So...Shall we follow her before she gets hurt?" Asked Spike, causing Starall to snort in amusement.

"Yes Spike. We shall." He stood up, letting Spike hop on onto his back before leaving the library...

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Starfall had been training his magic for years, with and without the help of his Cutie Mark. He remembered the first time he deactivated the magic of his Mark. He was truly fascinated with the realization of how much the Mark actually helped him in using magic.

It was almost like with wands in Harry Potter, although Cutie Marks had a wider scope of applications depending on a pony and they couldn't be lost or destroyed in normal circumstances.

Basically, it was a crutch for the respective talent that didn't impede the growth because you never stopped using it...But if you could stop using it...then that's where the real magic begins...

You could use the disparity to improve your regular ability by trying to reach what was a simple matter when using your Cutie Mark. And if your base talent improves, so does it when using your Cutie Mark, although not to the same extent. So basically in theory you could improve your talent until both your talent with and without a Cutie Mark is on the same level.

Of course, if you used Your Cutie Mark for most of your life, it's sudden disappearance can lead to some...funny consequences...

The sight of applejack buried under a pile of apples and wrapped by a lasso, had been one of said consequences.

"...No really, Applejack, how did this happen?"Said Starfall from the side, trying to suppress his laughter, while Spike on the other hoof laughed without a care in the world, almost hyperventilating...

"A-Ah tried to buck the tree using my lasso... Everything was going well, but then the branch caught by the lasso broke causing the lasso to wrap around me as the tree dropped all its appels onto me..." She said a bit embarrassed.

Starfall tried to imagine the situation and realised that she needed some skill to even get to this stage...

"And why did you try to use your lasso to buck the tree?" He asked to which Applejack blushed.

"Uhh...I thought it might be a good idea seeing as I...Uhh.... couldn't really kick it..." She explained. Apparently she quickly noticed that her coordination was impeded and she smartly didn't want to risk an injury, so she decided to use the potentially less dangerous method that came to her mind...which promptly led to this situation...

"Well...I hope you at least learned something from all this." He pointed out in amusement.

Applejack rolled her eyes.

"That you like watching me helpless, bound and covered in apples..." She said flatly.

Starfall laughed

"That I do Jackie. That I do...'