| “ | You got a problem with "Blank Flanks"?! | ” |
— Scootaloo
| ||
There are some poines without cutie marks. Apple Bloom is just one of them...
Call of the Cutie is the twelfth episode of the first season and first aired on January 7th 2011.
Writer: Meghan McCarthy
Episode Summary
When a pony discovers something it is talented or unique with, they will earn a cutie mark, a tattoo-like symbol magically placed above its flank. That is how it goes, and there is no way around it. However, some ponies have yet to gain this proud symbol.
Apple Bloom was one of them.
Two young school fillies, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, invited her and another "Blank Flank" (a nickname of a pony who has yet to earn a cutie mark), Twist, to their Cute-ceañera (a coming-of-age-like party to those who just earned their mark), hoping they'll show up and be made fun of, or not show up at all.
Back in Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom discussed this with her big sister Applejack. AJ responded that she and her family all received their cutie mark, but were always last in class to do so. Bloom was upset about this, believing that being last for this runs in the family. She then realized her last words can also mean that her future cutie mark could be based on her namesake, which means she would have to do something apple-related to get it. And so began a quest to find her mark before the party.
Apparently, Apple Bloom's apple marketing skills doesn't seem to run in her apple-related family. Apple.
In the Ponyville town square, she helped her sister with the apple market. She showed the townsfolk the versatile uses for apples, while getting a few "customers" to buy some. Unfortunately, her poor marketing skill lost more customers and failed to make a decent earning. At this point, she was fired. Applejack asked her sister if there were other ponies without a cutie mark. Bloom decided to find Twist and ask if she wanted to go to Diamond Tiara's party since they both had something in common. Unfortunately, Twist managed to get a cutie mark earlier, a two candy-cane symbol, after discovering her skill with creating candies. A distraught Apple Bloom sulked during the afternoon.
Please don't cry! For the love of Celestia, don't cry!
She then met Rainbow Dash to ask her about her problem. Dash told her that she earned her cutie mark after discovering her need for speed. She then said that the secret to finding her mark was trying a set of different activities quickly. From hang-gliding to karate to kite-flying, Bloom's impatience was unable to handle these, and she gave up.
The little filly then helped Pinkie Pie with baking cupcakes, hoping that her mark is related to baking. Tried as she might, she only made a mess in the kitchen and burnt her share of the treats.
She soon resorted to begging Twilight to magically create a cutie mark before the party, despite Twilight warning her that it wasn't that simple. They tried anyway, and as expected, one fake cutie mark after another disappeared. With nothing left, Apple Bloom decided to not show up to the party. To her horror, however, she just remembered that Diamond Tiara's Cute-ceañera was set up right in the snack shop, and she walked right in the middle of it!
Your classic mean girls, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara...
Bloom tried to hide herself (and her flank), from the ponies in the party, covering herself with a table cloth, and bumped into the two guests of honor. She lied that she already had her cutie mark earlier. When Diamond Tiara called her bluff, Bloom saved face by saying she didn't want to show off and ruin the festivities. Unfortunately, as she prepared to leave, her disguise was caught and her bare rear was exposed for all the party attendants to see.
Marks? We don't need no stinkin' Marks!
Just as she was about to be chewed out, two other "Blank Flanks", Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell, arrived to defend her. Neither of them had a cutie mark, saying that it just means that they still have the potential to find their calling. With most of the marked ponies in the party to support them, Diamond Tiara's plan failed.
Since then, Apple Bloom and her new friends formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders, with a purpose of finding their talents to earn their marks.
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