October rolled by pretty quickly, and apart from getting splattered in paint by a rather enthusiastic Pinkie Pie, not much happened.
Then there’s a large gap in my memory. It starts with me and my friends in the cafeteria chatting about the newest episode of...something or other. Then some singing started up behind us.
Next I knew, we were sitting in Canterlot Stadium, booing at some girls. Everything inbetween is just a great big blank.
In hindsight, I was stupid for forgetting about Rainbow Rocks. I could have prevented a lot of pain from occurring, but I can’t do anything about that now. I can only hope I didn’t do anything too stupid. On the flip side, at least nobody else remembers either!
The next thing of worth I will share with you, dear reader, occurred in Christmas, or around it. The snow had begun to fall, and the temperatures had begun to fall rapidly, meaning a permanent cloak of cold shrouded the land.
Back in the old days, winter was my favourite time of year. This was because heritage railways are best in the cold, with all the steam and smoke. Alas, there were no railways here, but at least there were traction engines!
One day, a few days before term broke up, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and myself were busy sorting our lockers at the end of the day. We were all elated at the news St. Nick was a week away or so.
“I love winter,” Scootaloo said. “Not least the feelings of good will, but the carols as well!”
“The food’s always good,” Sweetie Belle added. “My family always do a Cajun Christmas meal.” When she got a look from another student, she shrugged. “What? Is the surname not enough of a giveaway?”
I smiled. “And it means you get to be with family! That always matters most ta me!”
I pulled my coat on, added some gloves and pulled on a woolly hat. “See ya!” I called, as I walked away toward the parking lot.
Applejack turned up as I waited for the truck to pull in. “Howdy sugarcube!” she called.
“Hi sis!” I called excitedly. “Ah’m so so lookin’ forward ta tonight!”
Applejack’s face fell. “Ah can’t spend time with ya tonight, Sugarcube,” she replied.
“What? Why?”
My sister’s face went into serious mode. “Ya see, Sunset has no family ta spend the holidays with. So, me and mah friends have organised a series of slumber parties to give her a family. It’ll culminate at Sweet Apple Acres a night before the Apple Christmas Party.”
I nodded. “That's OK. Ah can arrange for mah friends to come over.”
Applejack smiled. “Thanks for bein’ so mature about it.” Just then, a loud horn echoed from the truck, now fitted for winter driving.
Well, my plan backfired pretty quickly. Scootaloo was literally snowed under, and Sweetie Belle had a mountain of homework to do. Ma and Pa were out in the snow, and Big Mac was seeing Sugar Belle in town, which left me with the internet, Granny Smith or Grand Pear.
I chose the last of those options. Don’t get me wrong, Granny Smith is a sweet old lady, but she can have a fierce temper if you end up out of line. I donned my coat, and walked out into the snow.
I entered the repair shed, where Grand Pear was working on Sadie.
He looked up from his work. “Hello, youngin’!” he said.
“Grandpa,” I asked, “Did you ever find yerself alone at this time of year?”
He turned around. “Applejack’s out, isn’t she?”
I nodded.
He stepped closer. “Back in the old days, when mah family weren't always around, Ah’d prepare food for them to show how Ah valued them. So, regardless of whether they were around or not, they knew our kinship was strong.”
I nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
He smiled. “There’s a good girl. Now, if ya don’t mind, Ah need to complete this repair.”
I walked out into the snow, and back over to the house. I took my coat off, and went upstairs to my room.
I sat at my desk and removed some paper, starting to make some calculations as I did so.
I must have got utterly wrapped up in all this, as I jumped when somebody knocked on the door. “Hello?” I called.
Granny Smith opened the door. “Well, there ya are. Ah jus’ wanted to tell ya that Ah was headin’ off ta bed now, so don’t stay up too late.”
I nodded. “Goodnight, Granny.” Granny Smith closed the door, and I flicked on my phone, dialling Applejack as I did so.
A grumpy voice came down the line. "Whoever this is, ya just ruined a real heart-warmin' moment.”
“Howdy!” I said. “Ah just wanted to check yer doin’ alright, that’s all.”
“She sure is!” said the voice of Sunset Shimmer on the other end. "She’s even wearing nail polish!”
I laughed. “That’s a first.”
“Hey, don’t be off to bed late now, ya hear me?”
“Alright, alright, Ah’m just the messenger.” I paused. “Have a good night!” I ended the call before I could even entertain the possibility of saying the next word.
I then texted Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Meet me tomorrow in the cafeteria. Before lessons.
I then got changed, did my teeth, and hopped into bed, switching off my bedside light as I did so. If my plan worked, it’d get the family back together.
The next morning, I headed straight to my locker and dropped off my books for later today, before heading to the cafeteria. It was already bustling, and full of chatter and Christmas cheer. I saw Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle already drinking hot chocolate, so I sat down and joined them.
“Howdy girls!” I said.
“Morning!” said Sweetie Belle.
“So, what did you want to see us about Apple Bloom?” asked Scootaloo.
“Ah have a plan.” I was being vague on purpose.
“For what?” Scootaloo asked. “I still feel a little lonely not being able to spend time not only with you guys, but with Rainbow Dash!”
“Mah plan fits into that,” I said. “It’s ta show our siblings how much we love them!”
“What did you have in mind?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Grand Pear was tellin’ me yesterday that it was tradition to prepare a meal for those you loved. Well, how about we do the same?”
“Whoa, whoa!” Scootaloo interrupted. “This is gonna take a while!”
“And we got days!” I answered. “They’re havin’ their last slumber party at Sweet Apple Acres. We can do it for then, and Ah was thinkin’ each portion could represent a little bit of our families.”
“Let me guess, I’m doing something Cajun," Sweetie Belle said.
“Ah was thinkin’ gumbo as a starter. Ah’d handle the main course, which naturally enough with be somethin’ fried.”
“What do you want me to make for desert?” Scootaloo asked.
I smiled. “Tablet, of course!”
Scootaloo groaned. “I’m not Scottish, OK?”
I snorted. “That bagpiper behind you disagrees.”
The purple-haired girl jumped as Mr Discord started up with Scotland the Brave.
“Is that all?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Cause I’ll need to consult the recipe for mixing this together.”
“Yup!” I replied. “See ya!”
The days passed, and the ingredients slowly came together. Scootaloo’s attempts at making tablet got better...slowly, and we eventually ended up with 24 pieces, as well as 12 spares. Sweetie Belle had also made the gumbo, after NOT setting her kitchen on fire. This was a small miracle, and I’d marshalled the ingredients I needed to prepare fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
We had a few hours until the girls got in for their slumber party, so we set to work. The tablet went in the fridge, to be kept nice and cold until it was needed, whilst the Gumbo was soon spicing hot, put directly underneath cling film to keep it hot.
So, I set to work. It was all going so well...
...until the door flew open.
“What in tarnation are you girls doin’?”
I looked back, and saw Applejack and the other girls looking at us, surprised more than anything else.
“Well, uh, we-”
“You’d better have a good explanation for what yer doin’, or Ah’ll tan yer hide!”
Scootaloo spoke up. “We’re preparing this for you guys!”
“We just didn’t expect you to be back so early!” Sweetie Belle added.
Rarity looked in surprise. “That’s remarkably generous of you.”
“Ah got the idea from Grand Pear,” I admitted. “We wanted to show how much we love you guys.”
Applejack was now standing in front of me, looking down.
I shrank back. “Ah know, Ah shouldn’t have done it.” My eyes made contact with the floor. “Ah’m sorry.”
There was silence for a few moments. Then Applejack began to laugh.
“You girls!” she snorted.
“So, you forgive us?” Scootaloo asked.
“Darling, there’s no need to forgive, as you've done nothing wrong,” Rarity smiled.
Rainbow Dash walked over. “That gumbo will need heating again though, and you need to set the cooker differently if your frying.”
Sweetie Belle turned on the charm. “Will you help us then?”
“Eeyup!” Applejack cried. “C’mon, girls, let’s get to work!”
With all of us together, it took us no time to prepare everything. We sat down to a truly delicious meal, which met with approval from all, although the gumbo was a little hot. At least it was burning tongues rather than kitchens, although it was VERY spicy!
That evening, we retired to the front room, and gathered around the tree, a cheerful and happy occasion. We all enjoyed each other’s company, and it was a very merry Christmas indeed.
Little did I know, in the new year that everything would go downhill.