The sun nearly set and the moon began to rise as three little fillies looked up to the skies.

“Haugh!” Scootaloo groaned as she flopped on her back. “Nothing is working, we don’t have the knack!”

“Come on now, Scoot,” Apple Bloom said with a grin. “This isn’t the end. We can’t just give in.”

“Yeah. There’s still stuff to try,” chimed in Sweetie Belle. “There’s skydiving and castle building and mining as well.”

“It will never work no matter how many we try. Nothing we do, listen, here’s why. Cutie marks won’t come if we do nothing but try things,” Scootaloo claimed, proudly spreading her wings. “We’ve got to commit to just one thing each.” She then put her hoof out in reach. She knew she was right and would not be remiss. “It’s all or it’s nothing. Who’s with me on this?”

Both Belle and Bloom glanced at each other and shared a look. She had a point, especially when they failed at learning to fry cook. Each put their hooves together, their cutie marks determined to win. “Scootaloo? You can count us in!”

Altogether they threw their hooves in the air, certain this was the day. “Cutie Mark Crusaders will get their cutie marks, yay!”

“But how will we each pick just one thing to do?” Sweetie asked, leaving the question to stew.

Together they thought and they thought for a while. Until each of them stopped and wore a smile. Each one sang a different track, saying “Rarity!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Applejack!”

Without thought or a moment of pause, each one ran to her sister with cause.

[hr]

“Rarity! Rarity! I need your help!” Sweetie shouted in nearly a yelp.

Her sister came running with a half-finished dress shirt. “Sweetie Belle what is it?! Are you injured or hurt?”

“No, Rarity, I’m fine. I need your help getting my cutie mark.”

Rarity sighed, relieved Sweetie didn't try taming a shark. “Dear Sweetie Belle, a cutie mark is something you must find on your own. Go wash up for dinner now. I’m in the zone.”

“But I need to pick a talent and make it stick!”

Rarity could tell she wanted it quick. “Then you must think about you. Think about what you like to do.”

So Sweetie gave it some thought up in her room. She thought of Rarity, of Scootaloo and of Apple Bloom. She liked to entertain them and see them be happy. That thought she shook off, it sounded too sappy. She glanced out her window and looked at the moon. And she kept on thinking while she hummed a little tune.

[hr]

“Well, gee, Apple Bloom. Don’t know what to say,” Applejack said as she lay in some hay.

“Please, Applejack? Just tell me what I’m good at.”

“It ain’t that easy, sugarplum. There’s more too it than that.”

“I don’t understand. What more could there be?”

“Just give it some time. Wait and you’ll see.” Applejack looked at her sister’s frown. “Alright, look, don’t feel so down. There is something you can do, just think about this. What makes you you? And what makes you happy? You’ll know in time. I promise ya, sis.”

Apple Bloom, still unsure, did as she was told. It was worth a try, so up the stairs she strolled. She lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. And wondered what did she find appealing? She thought of her friends and her family and how they were fun. She thought of all the things she could make under the sun. But who was Apple Bloom, this little filly? Was all this necessary? It seemed so silly.

[hr]

“If nothing else works, then here’s what you do. Just go back home and think about Scootaloo,” Dash told her sister as they sat on a cloud.

“But, Dash, I already know me, for crying out loud.”

“Look, it’s getting late. I’d love to hang out, but you should head home. You’ve got stuff to think about.”

So she scooted on home and did some tricks. Sad that Dash didn’t give a quick fix. She was good on her scooter, that much she knew. If only the thought would have stuck like glue.

[hr]

So they all went to bed waiting for something that clicks. Soon it would hit them like a ton of bricks. The next day, for sure they would find, a brand new cutie mark on their behind.