“Good morning, my little ponies.” Cheerilee said once all of us were seated. Ah was seated in the middle row between a liaht blue earth filly with some kind of purple mane, and a orange unicorn filly with a red mane--a liahter color than mahn. All of us responded with a good morning back to Cheerilee. “My name is Miss Cheerilee. I know all of us will have a great year together!” Her smile reach her eyes as she said those words.
Ah couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside at her smile. It made me want to smile back. “Now,” she continued “why don’t we go around the room and introduce ourselves? Say you’re name and what you like to do. We’ll start with you.” She nodded to a brown colt in the front row.
It seemed everyponies likes had something to do with their cutie marks. Ah guess that’s the definition of a cutie mark, but where did that leave me? Sure Ah like helping Big Mac and Applejack on the farm, and coloring, and playing, but Ah don’t have a cutie mark in any of those! Is everypony gonna make fun of me again if Ah say any of those with no cutie mark to show for it?
“Applebloom?” Ah was shaken from my thoughts when Cheerilee called my name. Blinking I looked up at her.
“Y-yeah?”
“It’s your turn. Tell the class your name and what you like to do.”
Ah gulped when Ah noticed the other foals were staring at me, waitin’ for mah answer. “Ah…like helping out on the farm.”
“Typical farm pony.” Ah heard the pink bully from before say before her and her friend snickered.
Ah narrowed mah eyes. Why was it bad being a farm pony? It was just how we lived. Without us Ponyville wouldn’t have any apples to eat! Ah know that for a fact because Applejack said so, and she’s always honest.
“What do you do on the farm, Applebloom?” Cheerilee asked, once again breaking me from my thoughts.
“Well, Applejack and Big Mac won’t let me buck apples with them, but they let me pick up the fallen apples and place them in a basket. Sometimes Ah help mah granny bake the apples into a pie, or Ah go to town with them to watch them sell the apples-”
“LAME!” A colt shouted from behind me, making the rest of the class laugh. Why was everypony always laughin’ at me?
“It’s not lame!” Ah said, turning around to face him. “It’s how we live!”
“Why don’t you go back to cleaning pigs? Farm ponies don’t need school!” Another one shouted.
“They’re too stupid to learn.” A filly said.
Ah felt mah cheeks burn and mah eyes water as they continued. Why was everypony pickin’ on me? Ah didn’ do anything to them. Ah closed mah eyes as tears slid down my cheeks.
“ENOUGH!” Miss Cheerilee shouted and stomped her hoof. Everypony fell silent. Ah opened mah eyes and saw all of them had their eyes opened wide in fear. “All of you should be ashamed.” She continued. “Picking on Applebloom like that. You should never pick on somepony just because they’re different from you. Everypony is different, and that’s what makes us special.” She walked over to me, her eyes softening. “Come on, Applebloom.” She turned walked out of the classroom. Ah took one last look at everypony before following after her.
Ah wiped mah nose with a paper towel from the bathroom before lookin’ at the mirror. Mah eyes were slightly red from cryin’, but I felt better. Miss Cheerilee took me to the bathroom after we left class and told me it was ok to cry. At first Ah didn’t want to, because they’d make me look like a little pony, but tears were already fallin’ down my cheeks, and Ah could still hear the words of mah classmates from earlier. Ah sniffed a few times before cryin’. Miss Cheerilee pulled me into a hug and held me gently yet firmly.
It seemed like an hour before Ah stopped cryin’ and Miss Cheerilee released me from her warmth. She grabbed a few paper towels from behind her and handed them to me, so Ah could wipe mah tears away. “Are you alright now, Applebloom?” She had asked me, still givin’ me a soft smile. Ah nodded and threw the towels away. “Good.” She had said. “Would you like to come back to class with me, or do you need a few more minutes?”
“A-Ah’d like a few more minutes.” My voice was a bit shaky. Ah felt tears in mah eyes again as Ah thought about going back to class. Would the other foals make fun of me again, or would they treat me nicely? What about that pink pony and her friend? They started all of this. If they hadn’t called me a blank flank, Ah bet none of the other foals would have made fun of me.
“Alright. Just come back when you feel ready.” She turned and left me alone in the bathroom. Ah wasn’t sure how long Ah stayed there after that, but it felt longer than necces...necess…needed. Ah knew Ah couldn’t hide from them forever, even though Ah really wanted to. Ah couldn’t go back home either. Ah am an Apple, and Apples never give up without a fight!
Ah left the bathroom and headed to class. When Ah opened the door Miss Cheerilee was givin’ a lesson about Pegasi and the weather. She didn’t stop when Ah walked in and went over to mah seat, and if somepony looked at me, she told them to pay attention and look back at her. Even though Ah came in late it wasn’t lon’ before Ah caught up. Just as Miss Cheerilee finished talkin’ this really loud bell went off. “Lunch time, my little ponies!” She said. “Now, since you’re all new, I’ll explain before I let you go eat.” She picked up a piece of chalk and began to write as she spoke. “You get thirty-minutes to each lunch everyday, unless something special happens. You can either stay in the classroom and eat, or you can go outside and eat. After you’re done eating, and you’ve cleaned up, you can play until lunch is over. I’ll call you when it’s time to come back inside, and we’ll resume class.” She placed the chalk down and turned to us smiling. “Does everypony understand?”
“Yes, Miss Cheerilee.”
“Good! Now go eat.”
Everypony got up from their seats and headed outside to eat. All of them were laughin’ and talkin’ as they left, leaving me alone with Miss Cheerilee. Ah guess it’s better that way. At least nopony can laugh at me now, or Ah can’t hear them if they do. Ah sighed as mah stomach growled, but Ah couldn’t eat. Mah lunch was in mah missing bag. Ah didn’t even get to eat breakfast this morning. Ah never felt so hungry as Ah do now in mah whole life.
”Apple Bloom.” Ah looked up from my desk to Miss Cheerilee and gasped. She was holdin’ my bag! “I found this outside the door when I returned from the bathroom. I guess whoever took it realized it wasn’t theirs and left it outside.”
“Oh thank you, thank you!” Ah ran up to her.
She smiled and handed me mah bag. “Just be careful from now on. We might not be able to find it next time.”
“Ah will.” Ah promised. If Ah lost it, there’s no doubt granny would “tan mah hide red” as she puts it.
“Now go along and eat lunch with the others. It won’t be long until lunch is over.”
“Oh, um, actually…” Ah rubbed my right fore hoof as Ah looked down. “Ah was thinking Ah’d eat lunch in here.”
“Oh. Well, that’ll give us time to get to know each other, if you want to talk.”
“Yeah!” Ah smiled.
She got one of the plastic chairs from the back and sat it in front of her desk for me. Ah sat down and pulled out a paper bag from mah bag. Applejack told me last night that she’d pack a peanut butter sandwich, apple slices, apple juice, and a brown betty for mah lunch. Ah couldn’t wait! Ah opened the paper bag and looked down inside. Instead of all the food Ah was promised, there were just crumbs and a note. Ah picked the note up and read it.
“Farm Ponies Eat Dirt.” It said in big, sloppy writing. Ah shoved the note back in the bag and placed it in my school bag before Miss Cheerilee could see it.
“Aren’t you going to eat, Applebloom?” She asked, frowning at me.
“Uh…yeah.” Ah chocked back the lump in mah throat. “Ah just need to use the restroom first.” Ah got up from the seat and walked to the door.
“Alright, but don’t be too long. You’re lunch will get cold.”
“Uh, yeah.” Ah chuckled. “Ah’d hate to have mah lunch cold.” Ah pushed the door open and ran across to the bathroom. Ah looked around, checked the stalls, until Ah was sure Ah was alone. Once Ah was sure, Ah sat down on the cold floor and cried. Ah cried harder than Ah did earlier. Ah had my mah mouth covered so Miss Cheerilee couldn’t hear me. Ah just wanted to go home. Go home and never come back.
Ever.
The rest of the day wasn’t any better. Miss Cheerilee just talked about more rules, what the rest of the year would be like, the bathrooms were called restrooms, and field trips we’d take. Whenever she turned around, somepony would throw a spit wad at the back of mah head. Ah tried to get them to stop, but Ah gave up when one of them hit mah eye. Sometimes Ah could hear them whispering about mah family. Saying we’re just a bunch of inbreds. Ah‘ll have to ask Applejack what that means later. A few times they’d pass notes to me, insultin’ me for being a farm pony, until Miss Cheerilee caught them. She scolded them--and me--for passin’ notes, until she read them. Then she made them say sorry to me.
When the last bell rung for us to go home, mah mane was covered in spit balls, mah eye was a bit sore, mah feelings were hurt, and Ah was ready to go home. Ah grabbed my school bag as quick as Ah could, and ran to the door, but Miss Cheerilee called mah name before Ah could turn the knob. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
Mah hoof lowered to the floor, along with mah head. “Yes, ma’am.” The other foals made a “ooo” noise as Ah walked over to her. Like they knew Ah was in trouble. Once everypony was gone she looked down at me. “Applebloom, I know it’s been a hard day for you, but I hope this won’t discourage you from learning. I know it may seem rough now, but soon they’ll let up and leave you alone.” She swapped her hoof through mah mane, knocking out most of the spit wads. “I’ll make them stop if they get too rough.”
“Thanks.” Ah said. “Can Ah go now? Ah got chores to do.”
“Sure. Have a good evening Applebloom.”
“Yeah. You too.” Ah said, a bit sad.
When Ah got outside Ah saw a few of my classmates in the playground, but they didn’t seem to pay me any attention. It wasn’t until Ah was a good distance away from the school before somepony spoke to me. “Hey, blank-flank.” It was that filly from this morning--who I know knew as Diamond Tiara. Beside her was her friend, Silver Spoon. “Did you enjoy lunch?”
“Ah didn’t get to eat lunch.” Ah narrowed mah eyes at them. Applejack always told me to never jump to conclusions, but Ah knew they were the ones who took mah bag. Ah knew it in my gut.
“Oh no, that’s awful!” She said, faking a gasp and pout. “We’d hate if you went home hungry.”
“Yeah. It’d be a real shame.” Silver Spoon said.
“Well, unless ya’ll got food, there’s no way to fix it.” Ah said, trying to step past them.
“Oh, but there is.” Ah didn’t get to question Diamond Tiara what she meant, because she smacked mah head against the ground. She placed her hoof against mah head and rubbed it in the dirt. “Eat up, farm pony!” She giggled with her friend. Ah tried to stand up, but Silver Spoon pushed against mah body when Ah tried. “You’re nothing but a blank-flank, hillbilly who works in the mud, like a pig.” She scrubbed mah face harder against the ground. Ah was dizzy and hurting. It felt like the ground was cutting mah face. “Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like dirt?”
“Ah don’t eat dirt!” Ah said, but it sounded muffled to mah ears.
“What was that?” Silver Spoon asked.
“Ah don’t eat dirt!” Ah repeated, louder this time.
“I think she said she wants us to help her, DT.” Before Ah could protest--or run--they flipped me on mah back, so Ah could see their stupid smirks. Ah opened mah mouth to ask them to let me go, or scream for Cheerilee, but one of them quickly shoved a pile of dirt in my mouth. Ah turned mah head and quickly spat it out. It barely missed Silver Spoon’s legs.
“Ewww!” She yelled, jumping back.
“Ew. Don’t you have any manners?!” Diamond Tiara shouted at me, shoving another pile of dirt down mah throat. I tried to spit it up, but she placed her hoof--the one not holding me down--over my mouth. Ah felt another hoof on mah nose. It was no doubt Silver Spoon’s, but Ah couldn’t see her. It wasn’t long until Ah couldn’t breathe. Ah swatted at their hooves, but they wouldn’t let up. Ah tried to get up, but with Diamond Tiara pressing against my head and Silver Spoon pressing against my stomach, it wasn’t possible. “We’ll let you go when you swallow it, blank flank.”
Ah shook mah head. Ah would not eat dirt. Ah wouldn’t give in to their demand. But no matter how much Ah told mah self not to, Ah had to breathe. Mah lungs were burning, and mah vision was starting to blur. Quickly Ah swallowed it, and took deep breathes between coughing when they released mah nose and mouth. It was painful, but it also felt good. Before Ah could completely get mah breath back, they shoved another one in mah mouth and repeated the process.
They kept doing this until Ah ate about ten hoof-full’s. When they released me for good and backed off, Ah turned onto mah side and coughed. Ah could feel the dirt layin’ in mah stomach. The awful taste was still on mah tongue. Mah lungs were still burnin’ from the lack of air, and no amount of cool air would calm it down. Ah felt like puking, but if Ah did they’d just force feed me more dirt. Ah had to push the feelin’ away.
“Looks like the blank flank is full.” Ah heard Diamond Tiara say above all mah coughing. “Let’s go home and make the cooks make us cookies.” Ah heard her walking over to me, but Ah was too busying trying to breathe to run. “Let this be a lesson, blank flank,” she whispered in mah ear “farm ponies don’t belong in school.” Ah heard her and her friend walk away, giggling at what they done. As if it was innocent fun.
Ah waited until Ah couldn’t hear their hoof steps anymore before getting’ up. Mah stomach was still upset, but Ah didn’t feel like puking anymore, so that was good.
Ah turned and ran home, scared that they might come back. Thank Celestia they went the other way.