Apple Bloom had made her way back to the entrance of Sunny Town after being separated from the friendly apparition known as Ruby. The whole thing still freaked her out, but the lighted path the ghostly filly left behind kept her eyes concentrated on her destination.
Three Leaf had been getting a drink of punch at the snack table, when she saw Apple Bloom returning from her little trip into the forest. Her smile grew wider as she turned toward the others in the square.
“Hey Grey Hoof, she’s back just like you said!”
Everypony turned toward Three Leaf to see the filly walking toward them. They all started to come to her, wondering what she had been up to.
“Had fun?” Grey Hoof asked, to which Apple Bloom looked up.
“Nothin’s fun out there,” she responded before she walked past him, but she was stopped by Roneo and Starlet, though the latter of them stood slightly back more.
“Apple Bloom, you don’t really look well,” Roneo said as Apple Bloom was stopped in her tracks. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”
While it was true that she had indeed seen a ghost, she couldn’t really tell them about what she saw and even interacted with. At least, that’s what she thought. She knew that they didn’t like Ruby, so if they knew about her ‘existence’, they may have done something drastic. And she didn’t want that.
“Ah didn’t see nothin’ out there. Nothin’ but trees and leaves and stuff.”
Three Leaf approached her with a cup of punch in her hoof, carrying around an expression that oozed happy vibes. “Well, want some punch? It’ll cheer you right up! I made it myself, and it’s really, really good.”
“No thanks,” Apple Bloom replied, pushing it away with a hoof. “I ain’t thirsty for anythin’ right now.”
Just after she said that, her stomach grumbled loudly. She didn’t have anything to eat or drink in a while, and she couldn’t deny that it bothered her a bit. She looked back at Three Leaf, the cup of punch still sitting in her hoof as her smile remained on her face. Apple Bloom sighed and took the cup in her own hoof and lifted it up to her lips. They parted slightly as the red liquid slipped past, traveling downward into her throat and refreshing the filly’s body.
She lowered the cup and looked back at the green mare, who was eagerly awaiting an answer. “So? How is it? Good? Great? Grand? Magnificent? Impressive? Thirst-quenching? Refreshing? Invigorating? Revitalizing? Bracing? Energizing? Stimulating? Exhilarating? Rejuvi-”
Before she could go on, Gladstone stuffed a hoof into Three Leaf’s mouth, shutting up the endlessly chattering mare. “Excuse me dear, but if you wish for an answer from the filly, let her speak. Your eternal blabbering prevents her from uttering a word. No offense.”
“Mmmkuh,” Three Leaf responded, his voice muffled through Gladstone’s hoof. He removed his hoof after he was finished, turning to Apple Bloom.
“It’s fine…” she commented meekly. “I’d hate to ask, but ya got any food too? Ah’m kinda hungry, and Ah haven’t gotten anythin’ to eat since Ah, well, got stuck here.”
“Oh, but of course we do!” Grey Hoof exclaimed, as he pointed a hoof toward a few tables a few feet away. Lined on the table were many choices of foods such as cakes, flowers, pastries, crackers, chips, and other assorted snacks and party favors. Apple Bloom walked up to one and grabbed what appealed to her more at the moment, as Grey Hoof smiled even more.
“She doesn’t seem to be that comfortable with us,” Roneo spoke up. “Why are you happy about that, Grey Hoof?”
“Oh, well it’s pretty simple,” Grey Hoof started as he led Roneo to another table filled with even more snacks. “She seemed pretty nervous around us at first. That we can understand, seeing as she is starting a new life with us here in Sunny Town.”
He grabbed a cup and started pouring some punch into it. “She seemed hesitant to say many things to us. Sure, she spoke her mind at times, but she was unsure of herself. But did you see her just now?”
Just as he finished pouring his drink, he directed Roneo’s attention to Apple Bloom, who took a small piece of cake from the table and was already taking small nibbles of it while she looked around the Sunny Town Square, taking in the bright scene of her surroundings.
“Just think about the way she spoke to us. The way she reacted. It didn’t lack as much calmness as it did before.”
“Are you saying she’s getting used to being one of us?” Roneo asked as Grey Hoof took a sip of his drink, letting out a breath of invigoration.
“Well, it will take a while, I am guessing. Those before her who had been blessed with our gift gave in to us and our town, and our beliefs. They accepted us Blanks and became one of us without question once they had received it. But little Apple Bloom… I sense that she is different, in a way.”
“Different how?” Roneo asked.
“Didn’t you notice anything strange about her while you and Starlet ‘finished the job’ last night?” Grey Hoof answered with a question of his own. Roneo put a hoof to his chin and pondered just what Grey Hoof could have meant.
Ten seconds passed before he shook his head. “I have no idea, Grey Hoof.”
“Try to figure it out, then. If you can’t, ask your marefriend. She was there, too.”
Before Roneo could get another word out, Grey Hoof trotted away toward Gladstone and Three Leaf. He couldn’t figure out what Grey Hoof had meant by that. What did he mean by ‘Did you notice anything strange about her?’ That was a question that was buzzing around in his head, and he didn’t like it.
Something did make sense, though. Apple Bloom wasn’t like any other ponies they converted over the years. He just couldn’t figure out what, but if anypony besides Grey Hoof could figure it out, Starlet could. She was the smartest pony in Sunny Town other than the aforementioned stallion. He trotted his way toward his beautiful marefriend, Starlet.
“Hey babe,” was all it took for the timid mare to jump in shock so much that she spilled her own cup of punch on the ground. She turned to see Roneo, and took a moment to collect herself.
“Roneo, be careful next time,” she responded as she picked up her cup from the ground. “You scared me half to death!”
“Sorry, Starlet,” he apologized as he led her toward the table with the punch bowl. “I didn’t mean to scare you. You know I would never do that on purpose. But… something Grey Hoof told me has me wondering something, and I think you’re the only one that could help me figure it out.”
“Oh… well, whatever could it be?” She wondered as she started to refill her cup.
“It’s about Apple Bloom, our newest member of the town.”
Starlet suddenly stopped pouring her drink and exhibited an expression of timidness. “I don’t… I don’t have to talk to her, do I? I-I’m not so good with t-talking to new ponies…”
“But you have no problem chasing after those when we’re forced to convert during the night.”
“B-But that’s different,” she said as she stared into her cup. “During those times, I am only focused on making them into one of us, since that’s what Grey Hoof wants. Other than that, I’m rather afraid to talk to ponies I don’t know…”
Roneo smiled and wrapped an arm around his marefriend’s neck in an attempt to comfort her. “Don’t worry, Starlet. I will always be there to help you whenever there’s a new face to meet, just as I always have.”
In response, Starlet nuzzled her head into Roneo’s neck, smiling warmly as she took comfort in her coltfriend’s presence. “Thanks.”
“Besides, I didn’t mean anything about talking to Apple Bloom anyway. Something else Grey Hoof said has me wondering about her that we have to figure out.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Roneo looked back at Apple Bloom once more, squinting his eyes at the filly. “He said that she was different than all the other ponies we converted in the years, somehow.”
“She is?” Starlet asked as she looked in Roneo’s direction, taking note of Apple Bloom herself, as if to sense something.
“That’s what he hinted at. He said there’s something strange about her that we could’ve noticed while you and I were ‘finishing the job’ last night.”
“You mean when we were completing Apple Bloom’s conversion that the Nightmares and Bonefiends didn’t finish up?”
Roneo nodded his head in agreement. Starlet pondered this, and turned toward Roneo’s house where they took Apple Bloom’s body the previous night. She could remember the whole night well, from Apple Bloom’s entrance into Sunny Town to the filly’s conversion itself.
“Well, you know how every time we give a pony our gift, their eyes glow red like ours?”
“Yeah, I know about that.”
Starlet turned to face Roneo again with an unsure expression. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but before her eyes glowed red, they turned yellow for a brief moment.”
“Yellow?” Roneo questioned, noting how strange such a phenomenon was. “That can’t be. They glow red.”
“I am sure my eyes were not playing tricks on me at the time,” she argued. “They did glow yellow, for whatever reason.”
“When I think of yellow eyes, I think of…”
Roneo paused. His eyes stared hard at the ground, and all he could think of was the grey filly from Sunny Town’s past. She had yellow eyes as well, and he could not forget it. But he couldn’t link Apple Bloom to that filly. It just didn’t make any sense to him. She was just a stain on the past of their beloved town, and in no way could be linked to another filly in present time.
“It must just be a coincidence…” he muttered.
“Excuse me?” Starlet asked as she stared at Roneo, confused as to why he looked zoned out. When he came back to his senses, he faced Starlet once more.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“You were thinking about the Cursed One, weren’t you?”
Roneo stood silently for a few seconds, realizing his marefriend caught on to his thoughts, and he sighed. “Yes. She does have yellow eyes. But I refuse to believe that those two fillies are connected in any way. It’s just coincidence! That’s it, just a coincidence, and nothing more.”
Starlet nodded in understanding, and turned towards the rest of the square, where she spotted the rest of the ponies continuing with the party. “We still have a party going on. I think it’s best we keep enjoying it.”
“Yeah, it would,” Roneo agreed as he picked up his own cup. “Grey Hoof’s parties are the best. Hope Apple Bloom is enjoying it as well. She’s going to have to get used to it around here.”
Apple Bloom was busy talking with the extrovert green mare, Three Leaf. Well, she tried to get a few words out, but Three Leaf kept going on nonstop without a break.
“So you ever hear about Roneo and Starlet? These two are so close, their hold on each other is stronger than glue! And I would know. I tried to pull them apart once to see if I could, and I couldn’t! But I could pull apart things that were put together by glue, no problem. Like once, I accidentally glued Gladstone and myself together. It’s was a real pickle to try and get us separated, but I figured it out eventually! I can figure out a lot of things, actually. For example, did you know that adult male ponies tend to have more teeth than adult female ponies? It’s weird, but true! And I checked it out, too. I counted how many teeth I had, and how many Gladstone had, and he definitely had more, and so did Roneo! Though, Gladstone did say--”
“Can ya stop, please?” Apple Bloom groaned, covering her ears with her front hooves and wanting the endless chattering to stop. “Ah can’t take it anymore.”
“Three Leaf,” Gladstone spoke up from behind Apple Bloom, “maybe it would be best to calm down on the talking? Remember, we’re trying to make Apple Bloom feel comfortable here.”
“Oh, sorry. I’ll try to control myself. I guess I’m just too excited.”
“It is alright. I know you meant no harm.” Gladstone looked down at the cowering filly, discouraged at what Three Leaf was doing to the poor child. “But choose your tactics wisely. Let her talk. Maybe she has something to share.”
Apple Bloom looked up at Gladstone as he backed away to give her some room. She stood back up, but her face remained looking down at the ground. “Thanks…”
Gladstone picked up on her tone of voice, and leaned his head in. “Is something the matter? Is there anything I can help with?”
“Gladstone is a great lending ear,” Three Leaf cut in with a cheerful smile. “You got a problem, you can tell him all about it, and you can be sure that you’ll always feel better after a bit of talking with him.”
“Three Leaf suggests that I try to become some sort of psychiatrist or something…” Gladstone said before he waved a hoof in a silly manner. “Like Three Leaf said, I’m but a lending ear. Any friend would do the same.”
Apple Bloom’s thoughts turned to Applejack. Her big sister was the one pony she could count on the most when she needed someone to listen to her troubles. She was a great help, and most of all, she loved Applejack very much. The two were very close sisters, and no force could’ve broken such a strong bond between family.
Apple Bloom hadn’t been too long away from her sister and Sweet Apple Acres. She figured it had been about twenty hours since then, due to the position of the sun in the sky, though she was careful not to blind herself with the intense rays of the sun. She couldn’t stop thinking about her and the rest of her family, and what happened to Twilight after her unsettling fate.
Meanwhile, Grey Hoof’s attention was received by Gladstone after a poke on the shoulder. “Grey Hoof, I am sorry to bother you, but something concerns me.”
“What is it, Gladstone?”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t invite Mitta to this party? At least to try and cheer her up?”
The normally cheerful Grey Hoof shifted to a more neutral expression, then turned away. “She wouldn’t want to come. She doesn’t really like any of us anymore, and to try and ask her would be fruitless. I wouldn’t mind her company, really. But knowing her, she wouldn’t come, even for Three Leaf.”
“I understand that…” Gladstone took a pause, then resumed. “But you’ll never know.”
After another brief pause, they both chuckled jokingly. Another pony could hear them some distance away, and was not so much amused by the fact that they referred to her in such a way, even if it was true.
“Fools,” Mitta said, standing just behind the corner of a building, watching the party with disdain in her expression. She knew what they were celebrating with this party, and she disapproved of it. She wouldn’t have minded any of Grey Hoof’s normal parties, but knowing that this one celebrated yet another victim of the curse brought upon Sunny Town, she couldn’t help but hate Grey Hoof even more because of it.
Her ear twitched as she heard barely audible hoofsteps treading the grass behind her. “Three Leaf, I know you’re behind me.”
Three Leaf went unhappy after hearing that. “Aww, I wanted to surprise you… oh well! Wanna join us?”
“No thanks...” she retorted in a drab monotone as she turned around. “Grey Hoof’s parties sicken me. At least, this one does. I’m not happy about what you all did to that filly.”
“But that’s what we do. I mean, she’s even the first filly we ever got to join us! We hadn’t had a filly here since, well…”
“No!” Mitta replied sharply. “Don’t mention my daughter. I’ll never know the joy of love ever again because you all took it away from me. I used to have a family… now I have nothing.”
“Oh, I get it now. Hey, maybe Apple Bloom can replace her. Then you two can be happy again!”
Mitta huffed before walking away. “Nopony, not even that filly, can replace my little Ruby…”
Three Leaf watched as she was left by herself. She just simply shook her head and rejoined her friends at the party.