It was my first night in Ponyville, I'd just had a pretty relaxing bath, using an assortment of Rarity's shampoos. My blue mane was shining, my white coat was gleaming and my small purple tail was the fluffiest it'd ever been. Sweetie Belle convinced your aunt Rarity to let Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stay over the night.

Sweetie Belle was living at Rarity's for the moment, since their parents were off traveling so Rarity had to look after her little sister. On my first night in this new town, Rarity was kind enough to let the sleepover take place in her room, while I focused on getting to know my newfound friends.

"So what was it like in Manehatten?" Apple Bloom asked me wide eyed. The idea of a city like Manehatten seemed to impress her a a lot, living on the farm with her family had always made her wonder what city life was like. "My cousin Babs lives there but she doesn't really talk about it much."

"Well it was always busy I guess...I was sort of bullied a little at school too, the other ponies would just call me names and maybe tease me a bit," I nervously sat on the bed with my three friends recalling my time in Manehatten. "But I got through it because I had a friend there to protect me, she was just amazingly kind." I smiled. "My parents were always working so I never saw them much. So my best friend was all I had."

I'd told my new friends all about my best friend back in Manehatten, as soon as I mentioned that said friend had gotten her cutie mark not long before I moved away however, the others suddenly got excited.

"I just know my cutie mark will be something awesome like the one Rainbow dash has!" Scootaloo proudly remarked, she was always confident about her similarities to Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow dash's cutie mark seems pretty cool I guess," I thought back to when I first met Rainbow Dash earlier, her cutie mark was certainly striking.

Scootaloo looked at me with a wide-eyed expression, anytime she spoke of Rainbow dash it seemed to fuel her adrenaline. "Of course it is! She's the most amazing flyer in all of equestria! And I know that my talent will be to fly as good as her some day," Scootaloo paused after her words and slowly looked down on the bed, her face seemed to change for a moment and she seemed somewhat distant.

"Well my cutie mark is just going to be beautiful!" Sweetie Belle blushed, "Oh I just know it!"

I smiled, "Well, I'd like my talent to be magic...maybe Miss Twilight will show me some spells one day," I said optimistically, trying to Change the mood. "And Scootaloo, I bet if you ask Rainbow dash for help, she'll get you flying in no time!" I placed a hoof on my newfound friend, she looked up at me and smiled.

"You think so?"

I nodded.

That nice optimistic moment of friendship was then interrupted by the loud crashing sound of thunder that rumbled throughout the entire house, rain came crashing at the windows while the sound of the harsh wind hit the tress against the house. The huge blinding streak of lightning lit up the once dim candle filled room with blue flashes of intense light.

Oh a storm, what a perfect way for my first night in Ponyville to begin. I've always enjoyed a good storm, some ponies might be scared but I always loved being indoors during a storm, I found it cosy.

Scootaloo laughed as the sound of thunder caused the rest of us to jump off the bed. She looked at the three of us who had huddled together next to the bed, shying away from the window, where the branches of the tree were tapping it repeatedly.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes before standing up on the bed towering above us, "Come on guys! How can you be scared of some bad weather? Come on! We're the Cutie mark crusaders, we can't be scared of a little itsy bitsy tiny thunder storm, seriously!" She laughed.

She lay down on the bed, while us three remained on the floor huddling.

"Yep, just a stupid storm, me and Rainbow dash will fly through one of these together some day."

Okay that's how Scootaloo likes to remember that story, here's what actually happened -

The huge blinding streak of lightning lit up the once dim candle filled room with blue flashes of intense light. Suddenly I felt Scootaloo grab me and the others, she suddenly pulled us to the floor, quickly crawling under Rarity's bed and out of sight.

"Scoots why in the hay d'ya you do that?" Apple Bloom rubbed her head after colliding with the floor.

"Scootaloo are you okay?" I asked, slowly laying down so I could see under the bed.

The stuttering voice of Scootaloo trembled from under the bed. "N-nothing's wrong a-at all! I just...wanted to lay under here because it's..." A long pause passed where the three of us stared blankly at each other. "Cosy." The uncertain voice of Scootaloo finally spoke

Apple Bloom suddenly fell to the floor in fits of laughter. "Scootaloo is scared of a storm, oh, you really are a chicken ain't ya. If Rainbow Dash could see you now!"

"Oh come on Apple Bloom, everypony is scared of something," I spoke softly, hoping to reassure Scootaloo.

"Oh come on Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle sighed.

"W-well what are you all scared of?" Scootaloo's voice trembled. "Everypony has fears...except me I'm not scared! I've r-rode my scoo-scooter through worse storms than this!"

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, while I put my hoof out, gesturing my friends to stop mocking her.

"Well...I'm scared of...um Parasprites, I guess," Apple Bloom struggled.

"I guess I'm scared of Opal when she's mad and scratches everything," Sweetie Belle hesitated.

I realised that to make Scootaloo feel better I should tell her my biggest fear, I only really had one, and it was embarrassing.

"I'm actually scared of - " I hesitated.

I'd been bullied constantly about this fear of mine back in Manehatten, so naturally I was nervous about letting my new friends know.

"I'm scared of Mailponies," I confessed nervously.

"Mail...ponies?" Sweetie Belle asked me blankly.

"Well, Mailmares, Mailponies... anypony who delivers mail... terrifies me," I gulped.

"Oh my gosh!" Apple Bloom burst out in fits of laughter, collapsing on the floor. "How in the hay? Why in the hay? What?" She struggled to speak.

"Long story and I'd rather not go in to it!"  I rolled my eyes at Apple Bloom who had barely caught her breath from laughing, then sat down by the bed. I decided I'd try to talk Scootaloo around, to at least help her cope with her fear. "Scootaloo, you just have to know that your fear is normal. There's no need to be embarrassed about it at all, I'm sure even Rainbow dash doesn't like storms, not many Pegasus ponies would like flying in one right? But if you can face this fear, just stand up to that fear, ask yourself why it scares you...you might find you're braver than you think. Some fears won't go away, but if you can just try, maybe you can conquer it."

Scootaloo slowly popped her head out from under the bed. "D-don't tell Rainbow Dash..." She looked around the room frantically as if Rainbow Dash would be there.

We all laughed as Scootaloo fully crawled from under the bed, still cautiously looking around as she did so.

"But Flick..." Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, "Why are you scared of Mailmares?"

I paused for a moment and shuddered, "I - "

The voice of Rarity suddenly came from the other room. "Bed time you four! It's late!" She called.

"Oh hey my first bed time in Ponyville!" I grinned, every first in this town was exciting to me.

"Trust me, you'll soon learn to find these strict bed times not so exciting," Sweetie Belle huffed, looking at the clock.

I lay between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, the storm was still raging outside, the flashes if lightning still illuminating the dark room every so often. Rarity had read us a story, I'd stayed awake until the end, I could never stand having a story unfinished.

"I'm so glad you're here baby cousin, I do hope you enjoy living here," Rarity spoke softly, gently smiling at me before leaving the room.

I smiled and closed my eyes, snuggling down in to the covers. I'd just heard those gentle words before I started to drift off to sleep.

"Psst, Flick!" Scootaloo whispered over Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to not wake them up.

"Yeah?" I opened my eyes, my impending sleep interrupted.

"Do you really want to be a cutie mark crusader then?" She asked quietly.

I smiled to myself. "For sure!"

And so my first day in my new home was over, and journey of being a cutie mark crusader had just began.

"Now you're a crusader Flick, you might as well try some of the things the rest of us have tried before!" Scootaloo patted me encouragingly.

"I can't believe I get to help out with the animals! Oh imagine if I earn my cutie mark already!" I beamed excitedly.

"Um, are you sure this is a good idea?" the uncertain voice of Fluttershy spoke out as I stood outside the chicken pens.

"Of course!" said Scootaloo excitedly.

It wasn't.

"Yeah I'm great with animals!" I reassured her.

Wrong again.

Scoots, Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked on as I tried to call the chickens out of their pen. I'd tried talking calmly, but any voice that wasn't Fluttershy's tended to scare them. "Here little chickens..." I spoke softly.

Suddenly, one of the chickens popped its head out from the pen and noticed me; four other chickens soon followed him. I held out some seeds on my hoof and within moments several more chickens came running out towards me.

Fluttershy gave a sigh of relief, her warm voice began to speak slowly. "Now just make sure you speak nice and gent-"

"I DID IT!" I shouted over excitedly, scaring all of the chickens, which all tried to run back in the pen at once. They all bumped in to each other and suddenly dispersed around Fluttershy's yard in fear.

"Oh my! Chickens, come back, oh please!" Fluttershy panicked, holding her hooves to her mouth.

I did the first thing I could think of and use my weak magic to hold one of the many running chickens in place. The chicken now suspended in the air was casting a glow as I tried to keep him from the ground. I couldn't hold on for long and dropped it, causing it to panic even more so, running around scaring the other chickens even more.

"I mean... I'm not so good with chickens..." I giggled nervously.

"Make sure you don't scare Scootaloo then," Apple Bloom sniggered.

"Hey!" Scootaloo growled.

"Running joke, I'll fill you in later," Sweetie Belle whispered to me.

So after 10 minutes or so of chasing chickens, Fluttershy had to use this pretty amazing stare method that seemed to get the chickens in order. I felt bad about what happened and Fluttershy having to clean up more mess. So to get out of her way and clear my head I decided to go on a brief walk around my new town.

I walked around through the sunny cheery town of Ponyville, I saw every kind of pony you could imagine. Pegasus ponies were flying through the clear sky; I'd always admired pegasus ponies. The way they fly with such grace, someponies were selling various pieces at their market stalls and the occasional pony would say good morning as they walked past. I found myself lost in my train of thought. When suddenly, without noticing I was face to face with Pinkie Pie, she stared down at me with the biggest smile on her face.

"Oh hey friend! You’re Rarity's cousin! Oh my, I forgot what she told me your name is!" Her voice seemed to increase in pitch with every word.

"Oh, hi miss Pinkie Pie! My name is - " I started.

"FLICK! THAT'S IT I REMEMBER NOW." She screamed excitedly.

Oh Pinkie, always so excited.

"YAY FLICKTAILUS FLUFFTAIL!" Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up. "Wanna come over tomorrow with the rest of us to plan Rarity's birthday party?!" Pinkie's voice became even faster and more ecstatic.

"Isn't that like three months away?" I asked, unsure if I had my dates mixed up.

"Oh silly!" Pinkie Pie patted my mane "It's never too early to plan a party! be there for fun!" Pinkie soon started bouncing away humming as she did so, just being normal happy Pinkie.

"Okay see you Miss Pinkie Pie..." I called to her, unsure if she heard me. It was pretty amazing how much energy Pinkie had, all the time.

I smiled for a moment, before thinking back to the earlier events with Fluttershy's chickens.

"Come on Flick, Miss Fluttershy is part of my family now," I spoke to myself, quickly heading off back to her cottage.

I knocked three times on the welcoming wooden cottage door, a few seconds later I heard a gentle voice from inside. "Not now Angel, let me just see who's at the door, your lunch can wait mister," Fluttershy slowly opened the door, her eyes lit up when she looked down to see me.

"Oh hi there Flick sweetie, what beings you here again?" She asked warmly.  

Oh Fluttershy, she always seemed so welcoming and gentle...

"I was wondering if I could try and help with the animals again? If you don't mind miss Fluttershy."

"Oh sweetie really? Oh my are you sure?." Fluttershy's soothing voiced calmed me.

"Oh I've always loved animals I know I'll get better with them with your guidance," I hung my head slightly, sighing, looking up once more with my innocent eyes. "I just want to make up for what happened earlier, I got a little over excited."

"Well I guess you could try feeding them again, come on sweetie." Fluttershy beamed down at me, noticing my ears perking up at her gentle tone.

"Thanks miss Fluttershy!" I hopped a few times with excitement, something I often did without realising, my fluffy tail flicking upwards as I bounced.

"Oh sweetie just call me Fluttershy okay?"

I smiled and nodded, as Fluttershy showed me inside and closed the wooden door of her cottage, closing with a gentle creak.

"So Flick seems pretty eager to get his cutie mark, think he'll get his before we do?" Apple Bloom asked.

"He's certainly determined! I think me and him will get ours together!" Sweetie Belle smiled.

The three fillies walked on through Ponyville, Scootaloo raced around on her scooter causing everypony in the street to have to avoid her while she still maintained conversation with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. She always did it; she could race around in circles and still keep up with what you were saying.

"Yeah well I bet I- " Scootaloo had sped off so fast on her scooter the other two didn't catch the end of her sentence. She flapped her wings while mounted on her scooter, causing her to speed through the crowded street. She zipped through the ponies walking by, most of them used to Scootaloo's unique way of travel. Finally she turned around and raced back towards her two friends who were now so distantly behind.

"I'm getting faster! Wait until Rainbow Dash sees's me! She’ll want to train me to be an awesome flyer when see's how fast I can flap my wings!" She called as she approached her friends. She dismounted her scooter with a swift turn and hoof kick, keeping the front wheel suspended off the ground, almost as if it was a skateboard.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle merely rolled their eyes, so Scootaloo scoffed at their lack of interest and walked along side them, pushing her scooter.

"Come on guys, let's go to sugarcube corner, I'm in the mood for milkshakes," Sweetie Belle walked ahead and the other two followed.

I stood outside in the yard once more. I was having my second attempt at helping the animals. So this time I was going to try and feed the chickens, without getting too excited.

"Now just speak gently and softly, let them know there's no need to be afraid," Fluttershy stood back, expecting another chicken frenzy.

"Here little chickens, I have some food for you, there's no reason to be scared, it's just time to eat that's all," I made sure I spoke gently in a manner similar to Fluttershy.

Slowly enough, one of the chickens stuck its head outside of the pen, cautiously looking at me. Another two chickens soon followed him, I extended my hoof out further until the first chicken gently pecked at the seeds on my hoof, the other two quickly joined in.

"They're not scared of me!" I whispered somewhat loudly, desperately trying to contain my excitement

"Well done sweetie! Oh I just knew you could do it," Fluttershy cheered gently, her small voice beaming with happiness.

So after feeding the chickens, it wasn't long before Fluttershy's pet bunny, Angel got hungry himself. Now let me tell you two something. Angel the bunny, is really no angel.

"Um, okay Angel dear, I didn't forget you," Fluttershy noticed Angel angrily watching us both. The impatient bunny was stomping his feet, annoyed that the chickens got fed before he did.

"Sweetie, would you like to give Angel his lunch?" Fluttershy leaned down towards me.

Now at this point I was ecstatic at the idea of helping out as much as possible. But that bunny rabbit... that darn bunny.

"I'd love to!"

Fluttershy showed me Angel's bowl, a selection of prepared carrots and other vegetables were neatly placed inside. I used my magic to gently place the bowl on the floor near Fluttershy's couch. Angel sniffed the various selections of vegetables several times, before turning his head away in disgust.

I was determined to get all these animals to love me, I wanted to impress Fluttershy and maybe find that my true talent was looking after animals all along.

"Angel, if you don't want this food that's fine by me. So long as you know, if you say no to it, I'll throw them in the trash," I spoke sternly.

Angel continued to look away from the bowl, and me folding his paws. "Maybe we could feed this to some of the other animals then..." I deliberately sighed. Hoping this would work. the idea of his food being fed to any other animals was enough to suddenly make him want it more than anything. He grabbed the bowl and pushed it away from me, before pulling out a carrot and eating it as fast as he could. "If you eat it too fast you'll get a stomach a- Um, I mean, I'll have to take it from you and feed it to the others!" I spoke sternly.

Angel panicked and slowed his pace at eating; worried his precious food would be taken from him.

"Oh my, you managed to make him eat and slow down usually poor Angel will eat too fast and get a terrible stomach ache," Fluttershy looked down adoringly at me, before swooping me up in to a hovering hug.

I blushed as she hugged me tight, I'd made her happy, I'd managed to help Fluttershy and now she was holding me in a tight...warm, caring embrace...

What? You two know I had a little crush on your aunt Fluttershy when I was a kid right?

Well now you know.

When she finally put me down, the first thing I did was check if I had a cutie mark. I'd hoped more than anything that I'd finally found my true talent...but my white blank flank, still remained blank. Fluttershy soon noticed the sad expression that formed across my face.

"Oh sweetie, don't worry about your cutie mark, it just means you're multi-talented and you just haven't found your best talent yet!" She spoke encouragingly.

I looked up and saw her smiling gently at me. "If you want, you can visit here whenever you want and feed the animals, you can be my little helper, whenever you want to. So you know if ever you feel sad, me and the animals will always be here to see you,"  The words that Fluttershy spoke were so kind, so helpful and made me feel so much better about everything.

I smiled and hugged her tightly; she smiled in return and put a hoof around me.

"Thank you so much Miss Fluttershy, I'd love to help out whenever I can!" I couldn't contain the happiness in my voice.

So it had gone fairly well with Fluttershy, Angel behaved himself...for now. But he'd end up causing trouble at the party. For now though everything was perfect. I now had permission to see Fluttershy's animals whenever I wanted to. And as you two know, she even gave me my own little pet eventually.

I was heading home and wondering if Sweetie Belle was there. As I entered Carousel Boutique I noticed there was no sign of her or Rarity, so I headed to my room. As I entered my small room I noticed Rarity using her magic to move around a few boxes and decorative items, she turned around and noticed me. "Oh there you are Flick dear! I have some good news for you!"

She eventually sat me down on the bed and suddenly proved she really was the most generous pony you'd ever meet.

"Your room is mine and Sweetie Belle's now?" I felt a mixture of confusion and excitement.

"Of course! I'm only ever working on dresses in my work room, I only use my room for sleeping. I don't need such a big room, and with you and Sweetie Belle becoming good friends and thought you could have mine. That way Apple Bloom and Scootaloo can stop over more often," Rarity smiled.

Rarity noticed my eyes widening with each word she spoke, because her smile grew noticing my expression. I could hardly believe just how generous your aunt Rarity was, I threw my hooves around her and hugged her. "Thank you so much Rarity!"

"Oh it's nothing dear, no need to thank me!" she strained her voice; I think I held on to her a little too tightly.

I raced in to what was once Rarity's room, only to find Sweetie Belle jumping up and down on the huge bed. "It's our room now cousin!" she beamed. She seemed more excited at the idea of being able to jump on Rarity's bed for once.

I smiled back and joined in with jumping on the bed, laughing as we did so, with each jump on the bed we went higher and higher. I never thought I could be happier, I had amazing new friends, a wonderful new home. And quite frankly, the most comfortable bed ever.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3: The Mailmare incident Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 35 Minutes