Grow Up
Chapter 5 – Growing Pains
“Ugh! Mah head! What happened,” Apple Bloom said as she slowly woke up. Her vision was still blurry, the colors and objects blending together. Then she realized that something was different.
“Wait a minute. Why does mah voice sound different, like Applejack’s,” Apple Bloom said, surprised at how her voice had changed. It was definitely no longer the high pitched voice of a filly, but it sounded a little deeper, more mare like.
Apple Bloom then tried standing up, still feeling a little dizzy. The moment she got up on her hooves her legs started wobbling before giving out, causing her to crash to the wooden floor of the tree house with a thud.
“What was in that potion,” she exclaimed, “Alright Apple Bloom, time to git back up.”
Slowly she got back on her hooves, bracing herself for another fall. Thankfully she was able to stand. “Now let’s see about walkin’,” she said as she put one hoof in front of the other. Her body felt sore like after a hard day’s work in the orchard. Every muscle felt like it was on fire. But at least she could still walk.
Apple Bloom noticed as her vision finally cleared up that everything was different from when she first saw things when entering the clubhouse. “Huh, that’s strange. Everythin’ looks lower to the ground, or I’m higher up. It’s almost like ah’m taller.” Then a thought shot through her mind. “Maybe the potion did work. Maybe ah am a mare now! Ah have ta know fer sure.”
Apple Bloom looked around the clubhouse for a mirror, even if it was one just for her face. “Awww,” she said in frustration, “Ah must’ve taken the mirror back to the house.”
She sighed as she realized that the only way to see if she had truly became an adult was to return to the house and face the great possibility that she’d meet the rest of the Apple Family along the way. She knew however that couldn’t stay in the clubhouse the rest of her life. So with another sigh, she slipped on her saddlebag and walked out of the tree house.
The trip was painful as her muscles still ached. Yet Apple Bloom found herself being able to gallop faster than she normally could and was able to cover more ground with each stride. She felt stronger and more powerful that she had ever felt in her life.
She made it to the open area in the middle of the orchard where the barn, farm house, and other buildings of Sweet Apple Acres were. Sneaking around the buildings like a ninja, she watched to see if her family was around. Thankfully the three had still not returned from picking apples. She then made a beeline right towards the house and up the stairs. She knew in her bedroom there was an old full length mirror. It would be perfect for her to see what she looked like. She approached the mirror as her reflection came into full view and gasped.
Apple Bloom’s reflection no longer was that of a filly but of a grown young mare about the same age as Applejack. She was now double her original height with long legs and a lean body. Her mane and tail had grown out but maintained roughly the same shape. The pink bow that once was comically larger than her head was now looking small.
“Oh mah gosh! Ah did it! Ah did it,” Apple Bloom said as she pranced about her room, “The potion worked. Ah became a mare.”
She was so excited about the potion working that she almost forgot about the purpose of becoming an adult in the first place. “Oh yeah. Ah almost forgot. Mah cutie mark! Ah wonder if ah got it.”
She turned her flank towards the mirror, her eyes fixated on her reflection. He hoped that this was it, that this was the time that she would get her cutie mark. She didn’t care what it was as long as she had it. As he flank came into view she stared and saw….
Nothing.
“Awww come on,” Apple Bloom yelled at her reflection. There was no mark but just a glaring big open patch of yellow fur that slapped of failure.
“Great. Ah’m now a mare without a mark. Ah’ look like even more of a freak! Now what am ah gonna do,” she said as she sat on her bed.
“Ya can start by telling me why ya lied to Zecora,” a familiar voice said. Apple Bloom turned, hoping it wasn’t who she thought. To her dismay, there was the whole Apple family in the doorway of her room. Applejack face was knotted in a scowl, Big Macintosh could barely believe at what he was seeing, and Granny Smith was at the point of fainting.
Apple bloom’s ears flattened as she realized that there was no way out of this mess.