Chapter 4

"I've tried everything but I still don't have my cutiemark!" complained Applebloom. She was talking to Applejack while she was applebucking.

"I've told you a million times sugarcube, you can't rush these things," replied Applejack as she kicked another tree with her powerful hind legs.

"But I want it NOW!"

"You know what," said Applejack, turning to face her sister. "Tigerlily has a cutiemark. Why don't you round up your friends and ask her to tell you how she got hers."

The little filly's eyes widened. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that!?"

Twilight woke up to the smell of grass pancakes. She followed the smell and discovered Tigerlily and her three dragons cooking.

"Oh hi Twilight," smiled Tigerlily. "I Hope you like pancakes!"

"Thanks!" replied the cheerful alicorn, sitting at the table.

All of the sudden, three ponies shot through the door on a scooter and rushed over to Tigerlily.

"How did you get your cutiemark!?" they said in unison.

Surprised and overwhelmed, Tigerlily was speechless. "Well, I, uhh..."

The fillys looked up at her impatiently.

"Hi girls," said Twilight, breaking the awkward silence. "Tigerlily, this is Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetiebell. They're the Cutiemark Crusaders."

"Oh," sighed Tigerlily. "Well a long, long, time ago..."

Tigerlily lived in an orphanage in a small village. No one knows where she came from. Somone just left her on the steps in the middle of the night and never returned.

Dragons big and small nested in a nearby cave. The ponies from the village loved the dragons. Every month, they gave them an offering of jewels, and in return, they provided them with their protection.

One day, when she was still just a baby, griffins attacked Tigerlily's village and destroyed everything. By the time they realised what was happening, the dragons were too late. The villagers fled, forgetting about the poor orphan filly.

A mother dragon scanned the village the day after the attack, checking for survivers, and found an abandonded, crying baby. She took the baby back to her nest, where she raised it, along with her son, Fireball.

Tigerlily grew up with the dragons, as if she was one of them.

One day, Tigerlily and Fireball were playing in the field when some griffins attacked them. They aimed more for Fireball, because he was a legendary dragon and she was just a pony.

One of the griffins knocked him over, and held his mighty fist in the air to finish him off.

At the same time, there was a sonic boom, and a beautiful rainbow lead Tigerlily's gaze to the orphanage, old and falling apart. At that moment she realized who she was. She sprinted at the griffin, kicking him in the face just in time. He fell to the ground, motionless, and the other one flew away. The wounded dragon looked up at her in shock.

Tigerlily let out an imitation of a dragon roar, signaling the others to come help. She looked at her flank and was surprised to find her cutiemark, a dragon breathing fire.

A few years later, the dragons decided that it was time she met her own kind. They sent her off with Fireball, who was now huge, and three small guard dragons.

"Wow," gasped Scootaloo. That was an amazing story!"

"Wait, you were raised by dragons!?" said Sweetiebell. Tigerlily nodded.

Twilight smiled to herself, because that sonic boom was Rainbowdash's sonic rainboom.