Codename: CND-Operation: C.U.T.I.E.-M.A.R.K. (crossover) (1)

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>2388
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>AnonIsAMeaniePants▮
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>executive Writing Operative: numbuh 2388, double-codenamed 'writeslut'
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>cd mission files
>load operation_cutiemark.knd
>now loading
>colts next door mission
>
>operation: C.U.T.I.E.-M.A.R.K.▮
>
>decrypting mission acronym
>cutie-mark
>union
>test
>interested
>equines
>-
>marks
>aren't
>really
>kool?▮
>
>begin Mission? (y/n)
>y▮

>No pony knew where he came from.
>Well, that wasn't exactly true; he said he came from a distant island off the coast of Saddle Arabia.
>But his appearance, a rough-ish looking red unicorn with a hoodie, certainly didn't make him seem like it.
>Maybe it was the way he dressed back home?
>Certainly he wasn't familiar to anyone in Ponyville.
>Nevertheless, it was today that this new young unicorn colt began his first day at Ponyville Elementary.
>"Good morning, class!" beamed Ms. Cheerilee.
>Every student beamed and said "Good Morning Ms. Cheerilee" to their lovely teacher.
>Every student, of course, except the new pony.
>No one really mentioned it, though no doubt it got everyone wondering.
>Most of all, the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
>Mostly because for some reason he had no cutie mark.
>They didn't say a word about it, but they thought it.
>Would this pony be a great new member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?
>"As you might have heard, we have a new student joining us today. Would you please introduce yourself to the class?"
>Wordlessly, the young colt went up to the podium.
>To the Crusaders' surprise, despite how rough-ish and thick he dressed he made no attempt whatsoever to hide his flank.
>His very, VERY bare flank
>He scanned the entire class, before giving his 'welcome speech'.
>"Greetings, fillies and colts. I no doubt may have caused a bit of commotion for showing up in town one day. But that isn't to say I am not your friend. Everyone, my name is One-Hit Wonder."
>One-Hit Wonder.
>That was his name.
>Scootaloo felt a bit offput by his name.
>That sounded like something a hitmare would be called.
>Or an assassin.
>Or something.
>It definitely fit his wardrobe, she noticed.
>But he felt a little too polite.
>She almost expected him to have a more 'tough-guy' accent.
>Like a younger, masculine Rainbow Dash.
>Except not a unicorn.
>She wondered if that made sense in her head.
>"As I've already explained before class, I've moved in from an island off the coast of Saddle Arabia, the name of which is REALLY hard to pronounce, so...I might not be accustomed to the locale of Ponyville."
>He gave a small smile. Maybe it was to have everypone who was offput by him remain calm.
>'Maybe it was to assure them that he meant no harm,' Scootaloo thought.
>'Or maybe it's to lead them into a false sense of security.'
>"But I'm open to this new experience, so I hope to start my days in Ponyville off on the right note."
>He sat down as the classroom cheered.
>"Thank you, One-Hit Wonder," Cheerilee smiled. "We're excited to have you here. I...I hope the classrooms of Ponyville aren't that different from those of your hometown."
>"No, no, of course not," he said with a cheesy grin.
>'Yep, something's off about him,' Scootaloo thought. 'There's no way someone with that unfriendly name, that unfriendly hoodie and no cutie mark can be THAT, well, friendly.'
>'But he seems so friendly, I kind of want to believe...'
>"Well, if there are no more questions," said Cheerilee, "I think we can get started. Now, open your books to page 30 and..."
>
>Hours later, the bell finally rung free, giving the young fillies and colts the freedom of leaving the classroom.
>And to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it meant that now was the time of their newest and biggest stunt to try and get their cutie marks.
>"Well, ah hope yer ready," Apple Bloom called, a smile on her face, "cause it's gettin' about that time!"
>Sweetie Belle grinned.
>Scootaloo grinned, but it wasn't a full-fledged grin like Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.
"Well, uh, are you sure this is gonna get us our cutie marks?"
>"Sure it is, Scoots!"
"I mean, these past few ones were kinda, well..."
>She didn't want to say 'ruined', or 'sabotaged', because using those terms typically made fate do them over.
>Turns out that wasn't the case, as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the two biggest bullies in Ponyville Elementary, appeared before them.
>Before any of them could prepare for their typical volley of insults and name-calling, they called over to another pony.
>"Well, well, well, if it isn't One-Hit Blunder," sneered the pink filly.
>He didn't even tense up as he walked down his path, something very few classmates did.
>"Well, well, well, if I could find a well to wish upon that would be wonderful," he deadpanned. He paused for just a moment before continuing. "I'm to assume you know exactly where the well might be, then?"
>This was a blow to their ego, one of which Silver Spoon fumed at. Diamond Tiara continued, "Even if I did, why would I tell that to a BLANK FLANK?"
>As Diamond Tiara and her cohort, Silver Spoon, used their whole inventory of insults towards One-Hit Wonder, the Crusaders cringed.
>'Yeesh,' Scootaloo thought, 'not even one day in Ponyville and she's already doing her whole routine.'
>One thing they noticed, however, was that he didn't even bat an eye.
>One-Hit gave her a grimace. "And why is being a 'Blank Flank' a bad thing, might I ask?"
>"Because like, you don't have your cutie mark, so you may talk big but you're good for nothing as far as I'm concerned."
>Here, he gave a sly smile. 'Uh-oh, what does he have in mind?'
>"Tell me, miss...erm."
>"Diamond Tiara."
>"Tell me, Diamond Tiara, is a 'cutie mark' really everything about a pony?"
>She cocked her head in slight confusion. "Of course, blank-flank. It's what makes a pony complete!"
>One-Hit smile became smug with the force of a thousand smirks.
>"So in other words you're just a self-absorbed snob? Is that right?"
>The surrounding fillies all 'ohhhhhh'-ed at the insult he just gave, Crusaders included.
>No filly had ever dealt a blow like that to her ego before.
>"Wha- how dare you!" she hissed.
>"Am I wrong, then?"
>Diamond Tiara's face was red as a beet. Almost redder than One-Hit himself, in fact.
>'I've never seen her get THAT angry before,' Scootaloo thought.
>"Of course you are! Just because I have a crown cutie mark doesn't mean I'm a jerk."
>Scootaloo heavily considered butting in to point out her obvious hypocrisy.
>But she didn't. It sounded like One-Hit Wonder had it under control.
>"So we're in agreement. A cutie mark does not define who we are. So now you can cease with the blank flank insult," he stated.
>He then started to walk off, before Diamond Tiara cut him off. As cooly as One-Hit handled that situation she was not one to take things lying down.
>"Listen here, One-Hit Blunder," she hissed, her face ascrunched with anger, "just because you're new here doesn't mean you're exempt from the pecking order. To me, you're nothing but a blank flank."
>He gave a matching scrunch to compensate. "And to me, you're nothing but a bully who really only picks fights because she can."
>Then, he gave her a glare that could pierce actual diamonds. "Be warned, though, I'm NOT the pony you want to pick fights with."
>She paused.
>"Not the pony to pick- YOU'RE the one picking fights, One-Bit!"
>"I made zero effort to ambush you, Diamond Tiara, and I'm about leave this dialogue, so I would seriously advise-"
>Angrily, she tried to buck him in the face. Almost effortlessly, One-Hit Wonder ducked out of the way and grabbed her hind legs in place.
>"Urgh! Lemme go! GRRR!" Diamond Tiara grunted as she tried to break free from his hooves.
>"Like I said," One-Hit Wonder growled in the most 'unfriendly' tone he made since he got here, "I'm NOT the pony you want to pick fights with."
>After he felt he made his point clear, he gently let go of the school bully and continued on his intended path doing whatever it was these Saddle-Arabian islanders did.
>She needed to ask him sometime.
>Not because she kinda liked him. Because he was a new pony.
>A 'cool' new pony.
>Right.
>In the meantime, the Crusaders thought it best to go Crusading before things got out of hoof.
>
"Alright, so, Apple Bloom. Let me see if I've got this straight."
>As it turned out, today's crusade took place in the thick of the apple forest.
>And Apple Bloom had something incredibly different planned for this particular crusade.
"This spell you wanted us to try is supposed to take a tree sapling and turn it into a tree."
>"Not exactly, Scoots. See, ah learned from Zecora a spell that kin transmootate-"
>"Transfigure."
>"Yeah, transfigurate, two objects together. So ah thought maybe we could fuse a tree," she held up an apple tree sapling to showcase, "an' a house together to grow a new clubhouse!"
"A..new clubhouse?"
>"Oooh, maybe it'll be bigger than the one we have!"
>That sounded like a great idea in Scootaloo's head. It had so much potential, and it could that one 'idea' that gained them their cutie marks.
>A cutie mark in house growing. That sounded amazing, if not innovative.
>However it had all the potential to go wrong. Horseshoe's Law, or something like that.
"Are you sure it'll work?"
>"Well, Sweetie, are you up to it?"
>"Yep! I've been getting really good with my magic, so...well, I'm confident."
>Somehow, Scootaloo doubted that.
"We don't even have a house to transformate-"
>"Transfigure."
"Whatever. Are you saying we're fusing OUR clubhouse with the tree?"
>Here, Apple Bloom brought out a piece of paper.
>"This here blue-color paper-"
>"Schematic."
>"Sure. This schematic is gonna be the blood o' the sapling fer the treehouse to grow from, and-"
>They then heard a rustle in the tree above them, making the fillies jump for a moment.
>"Pardon me for interrupting, but..." drawled the voice of One-Hit Wonder, "did I just hear that you wanted to grow a treehouse?"
>The three fillies looked up at the tree. Indeed, the new colt had followed them for some reason.
>Not that they minded.
"Whoa! Aren't you One-Hit Wonder?" Scootaloo called.
>"Yes, that's my name."
>The Crusaders stalled their plan to fangirl over the new colt, giving him compliments such as "You really showed those two bullies!" and "That speech was so awesome!" and "You didn't even flinch when they called you a blank flank!" and-
>"Whoaaa, whoa, settle down. I'm not here to be fangirled over. I was just passing by, but I couldn't help but notice what you were trying to do. It sounds very...well, interesting, to say the least."
>They calmed down and explained to them their idea.
>"...so you think that by fusing a treehouse schematic and a sapling and by casting a spell it will somehow 'grow' a treehouse? Is that what I'm hearing?"
>"...well when you put it that way, it kinda does sound silly," admitted Sweetie Belle, her optimism draining slightly.
>"But we think we can do it! Ah saw the spell in action before, and ah think this has the kind o'...the kind o' power to work."
>He raised an eyebrow. 'Yep, he's definitely not convinced,' Scootaloo thought.
"I mean, we're not sure it WILL work, but-"
>"No, no, please, do continue," he assured, a mischevious smile forming on his face. "I'd love to see this magic happen."
>They nodded, and with no further delays, Apple Bloom placed the treehouse schematics onto the sapling.
>Sweetie Belle then cast the transfiguration spell, as planned.
>One-Hit Wonder watched as the blueprints soaked into the infant plant. 'If he's impressed,' Scootaloo thought, 'he really doesn't show it.'
>Then, Apple Bloom put two drops of the 'growth potion' onto the sapling.
>They all watched in awe as the sapling transformed into what could only be called a pure tree-house. Growing from its very roots into a perfect mixture of building material and bark, it was almost exactly the same as the blueprints showed.
>"It worked! Ah can't believe it, it worked! ...well, kinda."
>The only key difference was that the house was small.
>Scootaloo sighed in relief. Something had finally gone right. One of their crusades actually didn't burn up into smithereens!
>And in front of One-Hit, to boot!
>But the important thing is that it worked!
>"Well, colour me impressed! This truly isn't something I see everyday," smiled One-Hit.
>The Crusaders looked at their flanks in hopes that was their calling.
>...after a few moments, they sighed.
"Dang, I was sure that would be it."
>"You were sure about what, exactly?" asked One-Hit Wonder. His smile had faded.
"That it'd be what would get us our cutie marks. Buuut, it didn't."
>He grimaced. "I see..."
>Okay, something was up.
>Scootaloo could no longer deny it.
>Before she could push him on it, Apple Bloom asked, "Well, it's kinda the goal of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to find ways to get our cutie marks. And, well, ah know it's yer first day, but-"
>He cut her off. "But you want me to join this cutie-mark club, am I correct?" She nodded to confirm. "Well I'm sorry to disappoint you three girls, but I'm not interested."
>Before he could walk off, Apple Bloom stopped him.
>"Well, wait a minute! Aren't y'all worried about not getting your cutie mark?"
>He stopped, as if she struck a nerve with him.
>"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but it's not that I do or don't want my cutie mark. It's just that I officially 'don't care', so to speak. If I'm good at something, I'll find that on my own. I don't want it to become my goal, ever."
>'Well, that's a very different perspective on cutie marks,' Scootaloo wondered.
"An obsession?"
>"Yes. I've seen many young colts and fillies be among the best ponies I've met. Once they got their cutie marks, however, a good number of them changed, changed into something far worse, riddled with diseases such as angstry and an inflated ego. Because to them, it became who they were. It became their whole reason for action. You three actively trying to get your cutie marks worries me a lot, because if you want to get your cutie marks, you need to know not to fall into the same patterns as this Diamond Tiara."
>That really dampened their moods. For all their misdeeds, for all their misadventures, no pony had ever compared them to Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon.
>"But by all means, go and search for what you want to be good at. The sky's the limit, as they say. However, if you want my advice, I would stop trying to be good at things you're not and start trying to focus on the things you are. Because you still have your youth, your minds are still expanding, and your brilliance shines brightly, so you have the power to define yourselves in ways other than the things on your rump. The world could use more ponies like that."
>He once again tried to walk off, before being cut off yet again, this time by Scootaloo herself.
"Hold up. You've gone from friendly, to mister tough-pony, to gentle to, well, this! How are we supposed to believe you?!"
>"You're not. A completely understandable reaction, all things considered."
"And are you, of all the fillies in Equestria, REALLY gonna be the one saying we CAN'T prove ourselves?"
>"Well, no. You can, and I think I know how, but I'd rather you find that out for yourself."
>Before he could escape her annoyed rant, Scootaloo gave that ONE question.
"Just who do you think you are, One-Hit Wonder?"
>He paused.
>"Someone who can see the untapped potential you have, Scootaloo."
>Her heart nearly skipped a beat. To compensate, she gasped as he walked off, this time with no pony to stop him. She didn't know who this pony was beyond what he did today, but she knew for a fact she never told him her name.
>
>Transmission Interrupted▮
>logg out? (y/n)
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