//------------------------------// // Chap 13 // Story: A Stallion with a Question // by Ugly-Duckling123 //------------------------------// The next few days, Apple Bloom thought her friends were acting strange and avoiding her. Every time she asked if they wanted to come over, they said they had stuff to do. But before she could ask what this 'stuff' was they had ran away. On Tuesday the doctor came to the farm to see how Mac and his ribs were broken. "They seem to be mending fine." he said bringing the stethoscope away and unwrapping the bandages around his chest. "Does it still hurt as bad or worse than it did?" he asked. "Nope." Mac said glad that he was better. "Ok," the doctor said as he was done. "Even though you're unwrapped Mr Apple, you still need some time to heal a bit more. No extreme stunts, fighting, racing, lifting heavy object, or horseback riding for at least a week." he said writing it down and giving the slip to Mac. "You heard him AJ." Mac said as the doctor left to his sister who had just came back from picking up Apple Bloom. "'No extreme stunts, fighting, racing, lifting heavy object, or horseback riding for at least a week'. Seems as if I can't do my farming chores." "Yeah..." she said coming to the table. "Apart from the 'lifting heavy objects' do any of them have to do with your farming chores Mac?" she asked. "We'll just tone down the work you do until you're better." At that point Apple Bloom came in throwing her bag into a seat sitting down at the table sighing her face down on it in misery. "Something wrong Bloom?" Mac asked getting some tubs of ice-cream out the freezer. "My friends are avoiding me." she said accepting one of the tubs "I think they finally caught up with the news about my leg." she said. "Well what do you mean avoiding you Sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Their always a few desks away from me when I'm waiting to be picked up from school, whispering in hushed voices, and when I ask them what their talking about, they all say 'Nothing' with terrible fake smiles. Then after they did that just now, I invited them over here but they said that they were too busy and had 'Stuff to do'." she quoted taking a big spoonful of ice-cream not caring about the brain freeze she got with it. "Bloom these are your friends." Mac said enjoying a tub himself placing it to one side for the moment. Trying not to spoil anything he carried on "Maybe their acting like this because they want to do something for you." he said. "How is avoiding me, and making me feel bad doing anything for me Mac?" Apple Bloom said tears in her eyes. "I don't know Bloom," he lied hugging her "We'll just have to wait and see." Just then door bell rang so Applejack went to answer it. * "Hey AJ," Pinkie said her bouncy self "Just came over to go through some stuff with you..." Applejack stopped her and pushed her back out the door closing it. "Not here Pink's Bloom's in the house and has been getting ears about this because of her friends." she said leading them both to the old well. "Well I just came over to see what snacks you'd and Bloom would like for the party." Pinkie said lying on the grass. "It's a week away Pinkie." Applejack said joining her. "Why are you asking us so early?" "So that I know what you'd want and I can make them. Duh..." Pinkie said getting a pen and paper out of no where, turning onto her stomach. "Well any Apple loves Apple Fritters," Applejack began. "Bloom's been craving for Ice-cream a lot since she broke her leg..." "Any particular flavor?" Pinkie asked taking notes. "Vanilla more than the others." Applejack said thinking. "Just the usual party snacks I think. You know cupcakes, brownies, jam tarts...." "Ok." Pinkie said. "Oh and Twilight also said something about Solar Eclipse sunglasses, so we can see the eclipse with our eyes." she said remembering. "I don't think we have any Pinkie," Applejack said after a moment of thinking. "But if Twilight has some and is happy for us to share them..." "She does and is." Pinkie said "Just making sure." "So what was that about Bloom has been getting ears about this because of her friends?" Pinkie said now facing the sky again. "It's like how you felt when we were planing you a surprise birthday a few years ago. She thinks her friends are avoiding her and is mighty upset about it, because she doesn't know why their doing it." Applejack said sitting up and taking her hat off. "She thinks it's something to do with her leg." "Well in a way it is." Pinkie said in a serious tone not normally heard by her friends. "It's cause of her leg that they're doing this for her." "I know. But she doesn't." Applejack said tightening her grip on her hat. Applejack was never very good at keeping secrets and lying especially to her friends and family. "It will work out in the end AJ," Pinkie said "It's only one more week." "I don't know if either of us can last that long Pink's." Applejack said looking up to the sky sighing. "Still don't know how to get her in there either or if she'll do it when the time come cause of how upset she'll be." "HEADS UP!" a voice cried a warning as a football came shooting at the two of them. "RAINBOW!" Applejack said after getting back up. "Just why in the world would you shoot a ball at us when you could see we were talking." "I came over to see you to help with the party." Rainbow said the ball under her arm. "But Mac said you were up here so Bloom couldn't hear you." "What are you going to do for it RD?" Applejack asked calming down a bit. "I got an idea on how to bring her into the forest." Rainbow said sitting down. "It might sound and/or seem mean but... what if we use Honey-Crisp?" she had heard from Fluttershy how protective Apple Bloom was to her horse. "No, nuh uh!" Applejack said understanding where this was going. "We are not going to use Honey as bait just to get Bloom to go into the forest." "Well how else is she going to go in there?" Rainbow asked. "I don't know. But we're Not using Honey!" she said getting up and leaving her friends at the well to visit the horses to cheer herself up.