The journey back to Sweet Apple Acres in Bessie had been a blast. Open top cars made things seem so much more immediate. That, and the suspension was a bit rough and Time Turner was a bit of a reckless driver. At least Ditzy and Dinky enjoyed the run, but they were clearly used to it.
After bidding Dinky goodbye, Babs and her friends trudged up the slope back to the house.
“How you feeling Babs?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Fine thanks,” she replied, in a monotone voice.
“I think it was really brave how you stood up to those bullies!” Scootaloo said.
“They had it coming,” Babs answered, a look of anger in her eyes. “They’re scum, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Shall we take our minds off them?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“What about the gaming session we had planned tonight?” asked Button.
“What have we got?” inquired Babs.
“Some racing games, two PCs with RTS games set up for LAN play, and we even put a train simulator in there.”
“Really?” Babs asked. “I’ve certainly racked up a few hours on Train Simulator 2013.”
After getting in and removing their coats, the girls decamped downstairs, and began setting everything up for the gaming meetings. Controllers were plugged in, and conversation turned to relationships and other things.
“Soup’s up, everybody!” called Applejack.
“Let’s go!” Apple Bloom called.
The meal was seafood, California style.
“How was your day?” asked Bright Mac.
“We played music, went into town for a bit, and even ran some of the locos around the yard.”
“Babs even scared off some bullies who were bein’ mean to Ditzy!” Apple Bloom added.
Bright Mac simply glared at her. “I do not want you to mention bullying in Babs’ presence, understand?”
Bloom was utterly confused. “Why?”
“Because I said so.” He looked to Babs, and his tone became infinitely more pleasant. “I hear you’ve got a good singing voice. Every true Apple does.”
“My parents can’t sing at all, and my sister never practiced the piano,” Babs replied.
“That’s a pity,” Pear Butter said. “I heard that the music there is good.”
Babs smiled. “If it’s music you want, I’d recommend Memphis or N’awlins.”
“Where?”
“It’s spelt New Orleans, but almost everybody on the east coast calls it N’awlins.”
“Oh!” Pear suddenly understood. “I’ve heard the food there is amazing.”
“That’s an understatement,” Rumble added.
“It certainly is!” Babs exclaimed. Happy memories filled her mind, of holidays in the Deep South, away from the concrete and in the warm air, the museums and food...
...all before the hell that her life had become.
Babs only realised she’d zoned out when she heard Bright Mac calling her name.
Later on, they went downstairs and started gaming. Scootaloo took on Apple Bloom at Mario Kart.
“Alright then ZapApple,” she laughed. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Babs froze. “ZapApple?” she said.
“Yeah!” Apple Bloom replied. “That’s mah Steam name.”
“Then we already knew each other before I came here!” Babs exclaimed. “I’m Uptown-Funker!”
“What a small world it is,” Button commented.
Meanwhile, Rumble and Pip went head to head in RTS combat, whilst Babs went for the simulator first.
“So, what am I doin’ here?” she asked. “I’m not used to the raildriver system.”
Luckily, Button was on hand to help her. “This lever controls the brakes, and this one handles the reverser. That one on the left is the throttle.”
Babs picked a NYC J3 on the Northeast Corridor route, and took the engine for a spin.
“Hey, this is really intuitive!” she smiled, as the engine rolled smoothly along the line.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom roundly beat Scootaloo at racing, whilst Pip was victorious against Rumble. After a while, they tired of gaming, and chose to watch a film instead. After a vote, they picked Jurassic Park. This was what surprised Babs about Apple Bloom. Apparently, a cowgirl in training, she had a distinct soft spot for Steven Spielberg films.
After the film was ended, most of them headed home, whilst Babs and Apple Bloom went off to bed.
Babs trudged through the snow in a park, wind whistling all around her and the temperatures dropping rapidly. She pulled her coat closer to her, and tightened her scarf.
The park was totally deserted, and that made her nervous. Why would there be nobody around? It baffled her.
Visibility was poor to say the least. She took a few more steps forward, then slipped on some ice. She landed on her back with a bang, the pain searing through her back.
“Ow,” she moaned.
“I’ve got you now,” said a voice behind her.
Babs spun round and saw one of bullies standing right there.
“HOLY SHIT!” she cried, pulling herself to her feet and running as fast as she could. But she couldn’t escape. Walls appeared all around, made of snow, blocking her route.
She turned and ran across the field, only for a branch to trip her up. She staggered back to her feet and sprinted as hard as she could for the fence.
She vaulted it and ran for the railroad tracks, only for an oncoming train to stop her.
By which time, her pursuer had caught up. He grabbed her and slammed her to the floor.
“Don’t you get it?” he laughed. “You can run as far as you want, but you can never escape from us. You can never escape from bullies. You carry it everywhere with you, everywhere you go.”
“Get off!” Babs shouted, trying to punch him in the face. But her fist simply went straight through him.
“We will always win,” he laughed. “You have to face your fears, or you will never be free.”
Babs’ breathing intensified. “SOMEBODY!” she screamed, as loud as she could. “SOMEBODY HELP ME!”
Next thing she knew, there was a loud thump, and she hit the floor with a bang.
Babs looked around her, and heard an absolute commotion outside. She lay on the floor, with her duvet lying on the ground next to her.
Her door suddenly burst open, and Bright Mac burst in. “Good God!” he cried. “Babs! What happened?”
Babs pulled herself up from the floor, and sat on the bed. “I had a nightmare,” she mumbled.
“That is a poor choice of words!” Pear Butter remarked. “it sounded more like a full-blown panic attack, given how loud you were screaming.”
“Pear!” Bright Mac snapped. “I had no idea it was this bad.”
“What was this bad?” asked a voice nervously. Babs looked to see Apple Bloom standing at the door, dressed in a nightgown.
“Bloom, go to bed,” Bright Mac snapped.
Bloom stepped forward confidently. “No,” she replied.
“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear enough,” Bright Mac answered. “GO TO-!”
“No,” Babs interrupted. “She deserves to know. I can’t believe you kept her in the dark.”
There was a pause, but then Babs spoke. “You know the story about me being here for Thanksgiving? That’s only partly true. I’m really hear because...because back at home I’m being bullied.”
Apple Bloom looked utterly shocked. “Bullied?” she exclaimed. “Who’d want to bully you?”
“There are a group of morons at my school who don’t like me. I don’t know their reasons, and frankly I don’t give a shit.”
Pear looked shocked, but Bright shushed her before she could interrupt. “She needs to let it out,” he said. “Continue.”
“They did all sort of horrible things to me, such as call me names, sexually harass me, mocking me for being related to you, and so one day, I just lost it.” Babs’ voice began to quiver as she continued. “It only got worse for me from then on. They started punching and kicking me, and even steal my lunch money.”
She put her head in her hands. “And the worst thing is, my parents didn’t take it seriously. They just thought I was an angsty teenager struggling with the world. That last night before I came here, I...” Babs began to sob, “I...t-told them I h-hated them! Nobody loves me in this world!” Her words simply devolved into gibberish mixed in with her tears.
Apple Bloom walked over and hugged her. “No Babs,” she replied. “Somebody does love ya. We do, and yer always welcome here, no matter what happens.”
“Thank you!” Babs replied through her tears.
Bright Mac looked back. “I think we should leave them,” he said, and both parents exited.
“You’re a great gal to be around,” Bloom continued. “The way you took on those bullies was incredible. Ah couldn’t have done that!”
Babs sighed. “Thanks, cuz,” she replied. “I needed that. Could ya stay in here overnight? I’d rather not be alone.”
Bloom lay down on the floor. “Ah’ll stay with ya all night,” she said.
Babs pulled her blankets back over her, and drifted off to sleep once again. Tomorrow she had a tour of CHS to go on.
Meanwhile, 3 boys were seated round a chair.
“It’s not fair!” said the first.
“That bitch gets us kicked out of our hangout!” said the second
“We deserve payback,” said the third.
“Well, she’s coming into CHS tomorrow,” laughed the second.
“Then, it’s settled.”
Babs and Apple Bloom arrived into CHS the next morning, and popped by Celestia’s office to get Babs a visitor’s badge.
They met up in a corridor with the rest of the Crusaders, and headed toward the cafeteria.
Babs’ face suddenly collided with a large fist, and she fell to the floor, against the lockers.
Above her were 3 extremely angry boys.