//------------------------------// // { 3 } // Story: My Little Cuties // by Amazing Ups //------------------------------// Much time has passed since that day. Apple Bloom's leg has healed up nicely, but all three of them have learned to be much more careful. We've moved into the apartment above the theatre, and things couldn't be better. There's a small, fenced in area out back where they can get fresh air, and now they've got their own room. Every once in a while, when a nice kids movie comes out, I take the girls downstairs and we all have movie night together. They love the silly stuff like Madagascar. Hearing their little giggles always makes my day. They liked to watch cartoons too. Scootaloo always demands to watch stuff like Wipeout and the X-Games, which usually collides into Sweetie Belle's TV schedule. She seems to like to watch talent shows, when she's not watching Glee, that is. Apple Bloom seems to be content watching anything though. I'm just happy that we don't have the Hub on our TV. I just found out that the tree in the backyard is an apple tree. A few months back I'd tried to chop it down for some more play room outside. It was a tiny little thing looking like it was rotting alive. But Apple Bloom had defended it furiously. "What's that tree ever done to you, Daddy?" She had demanded of me. "Nothing at all, but-" "Then don't hurt it!" She had stood up on her hind legs, holding out her hooves in front of it. Since her accident, she had become a sort of reserver of justice in our household. I couldn't swat a single fly without letting it pass one of her little trials. I sighed, thinking the tree a waste of space back then. But with the changing seasons, it brought the most apples I'd ever seen on a single tree! The spring air seemed to refresh it, coloring it with beautiful blossoms. Eventually the flowers yielded too many apples to count. We went out to pick them, and Apple Bloom seemed very content with herself now. The skinny tree drooped over with the burden of its fruit. The girls certainly weren't strong enough to buck the apples out of the tree yet, so I let them climb up in it and shake the apples off their branches while I gathered them up. When we were done with the "harvest," Apple Bloom even helped make apple fritters for everyone. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had offered to help, but I was a little reluctant. Scootaloo would probably just throw in a bunch of candy or something, and as for Sweetie Belle…well, if you've ever seen the Sister-Hooves Social episode, I think you'll know why I decided to keep her "help" to a minimum. *** Sweet Celestia, I just witnessed the most adorable thing. I caught Sweetie Belle, all alone in her room, singing. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had gone outside to play, but Sweetie had stayed inside. I mean, I know she likes all those singing shows, but this is something else. She was singing the first song from Beauty and the Beast, one of the girls' favorite movies. It was just fantastic. She even did the other townspeople's voices, and the funny accents too. But that wasn't all. She'd gotten into my iPod and started listening to Adele. Luckily, I had wiped all traces of Brony music off of it beforehand. I had been worried that I might've forgotten a song, but something else caught me off guard. When I heard her belting out "Someone Like You" perfectly, an octave higher than it should have been sung, I couldn't help but putting my hand over my mouth to stop it from dropping in d'aw-ness. Her singing was just too beautiful. It's hard to believe, but ponies sure have good vocal chords. While I was sitting there by the door, I let one tear escape. Just one. These fillies sure know how to pluck them heartstrings. I was so lost in the moment, I hadn't noticed her stop singing and walk out of the room. "Oh! Dad..!" "Hey sweetie." We sat there awkwardly for a moment. Then i realized how ridiculous I must look, leaned up against the wall with watery eyes, and stood up quickly. Sweetie Belle gave me a sideways glance. "Don't tell Scootaloo." "Hey now!" I stopped her from running down the stairs. "Is there something going on I should know about Sweetie?" "Nope, nothing!" She refrained from looking directly at me. "Nothing at all!" "Come on Sweetie, you know you can tell me anything. So what's wrong?" "Well…" Her voice trailed off. She seemed to be weighing the consequences of telling me anything. In a split second, she made up her mind. "Well, Daddy, you've been taking Scootaloo out to practice skateboarding every night!" Her hair poofed up in anger. "And it's just not fair! "Me and Apple Bloom have to stay up late waiting for you two, and we get so bored and tired!" She lightly stamped her hoof for emphasis on certain words. "And we thought, if we could do something cool like Scootaloo could, you might notice us some more.." Her mane shrank down to its regular size as a sadder tone enveloped her voice. I gave my self a mental facepalm. I should've noticed how reclusive the two had been lately. "So you and Bloom are just jealous of Scootaloo?" "I am NOT jealous!" At my words her hair inflated even more than before. "You've been totally ignoring us and it's not fai-" "Shhhh." Sweet Celestia she takes after Rarity. Always the Drama Queen. "You know I'll always love all of you equally. Scootaloo can skate, but what I just heard? That was incredible Sweetie Belle!" I'd never heard of a pony blushing before, but I swear I saw her fur turn pinker just a bit. "You know, if you work at it some more, you could probably even get your cutie mark." Now she was practically bouncing up and down with happiness. "You really think so, Daddy?" Her squeaky voice gave me a smile. "I know so. Now go play with your sisters. I'll meet you all downstairs later, and we'll play Hide and Seek." As she skipped away happily, I made a mental note to myself to talk to Apple Bloom too. I wondered what she had been practicing- Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. In the house across the street, there had been a black and white blur. Some sort of tall figure. But that house had been abandoned for years… "Dad? You coming?" I heard Scootaloo's impatient voice call out. "..Yeah, I'll be right down." I pushed all thoughts of the apparition out my mind, and started counting to 10. ***